Polysorbates, a series of polyoxyethylenated sorbitan esters, are hydrophilic and nonionic surfactants widely used as a food additive and stabilizer in pharmaceuticals. Among them, polysorbate 20, polyoxyethylene-20-sorbitan monolaurate, has 20 repeating units of polyethylene glycol. It is mainly used as a direct/indirect additive in food and emulsifiers/surfactants in cosmetics that come into direct contact with the human skin, such as shampoo, bath soap, skin cleansing products, and hair spray. It has also been used as an excipient in pharmaceuticals as a stabilizer, particularly in tablet and ophthalmic solutions. Recently, polysorbate 20, one of the excipients of CORETOX? approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS, Republic of Korea), has been used in humans via an intramuscular route of administration[1].
[1] Junhyung Kim. “Safety verification for polysorbate 20, pharmaceutical excipient for intramuscular administration, in Sprague-Dawley rats and New Zealand White rabbits.” PLoS ONE (2021): e0256869.
