| Chemical Properties | White solid |
| Uses | Sodium thioglycolate has been used:
- as a growth supplement in enrichment media and to study its effect on Arcobacter
- in influenza hemagglutinin formulation in order to reduce disulfide-mediated cross-linking and early potency loss
- in electron microscopy
|
| Uses | In cold-waving of hair; as depilatory; in bacteriology for the preparation of thioglycolate media; as analytical reagent, see Thioglycolic Acid. |
| Uses | dipilatory, irritant, chelating agent |
| Definition | The sodium salt of thioglycolic acid.
|
| General Description | White powder with a slight odor. Used in cold-waving of hair and as a dipilatory. |
| Air & Water Reactions | Hygroscopic. Discolors on exposure to air. Water soluble. |
| Reactivity Profile | Sodium thioglycolate is hygroscopic and sensitive to air. Discolors if exposed to iron . May generate flammable and toxic hydrogen sulfide with strong reducing agents. |
| Hazard | Yields toxic hydrogen sulfide on decompo-
sition, may be toxic by skin absorption.
|
| Fire Hazard | Flash point data for Sodium thioglycolate are not available. Sodium thioglycolate is probably combustible. |
| Flammability and Explosibility | Nonflammable |
| Biochem/physiol Actions | Sodium thioglycolate is a commonly used reagent for bacteriological research to maintain reducing conditions in media. Thioglycolate can also protect enzymes against inactivation by maintaining protein thiol groups in the reduced state. Thioglycolate medium is frequently used in inflammation research to elicit a neutrophil and macrophage response in vivo. |
| Safety Profile | Poison by intravenous and intraperitoneal routes. Moderately toxic by ingestion. A human skin irritant. This material yields hydrogen sulfide on decomposition. A death has been attributed to the absorption of toxic decomposition products from the use of this material in a hair permanent-waving solution. When heated to decomposition it emits toxic fumes of SOx and Na2O. See also SULFIDES and MERCAPTANS. |
| Purification Methods | It crystallises from 60% EtOH (charcoal). It is hygroscopic.[Beilstein 3 IV 600.] |
