IGEPAL CA-630 is a nonionic, non-denaturing detergent. Its official IUPAC name is octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol. IGEPAL is a registered trademark of Rhodia.
IGEPAL CA-630 is sold by Sigma-Aldrich and serves as a "chemically indistinguishable" substitute for Nonidet P-40. All IGEPAL CA surfactants are derived from octylphenol. This serves as the hydrophobic part. Different amounts of ethylene oxide are combined with this part to get a balance of hydrophobic/hydrophilic substances (measured by HLB). This balance has an important impact on wetting detergency, foam, solubility, emulsification. IGEPAL CA-630 has HLB of 13.4, similar to that of Triton X-100 (13.1) and thus belongs to the detergent range (HLB 13-15); this is significantly less than 17.8 of tergitol NP-40 or 16.7 of Polysorbate 20, which both belong in the solubilizer range (15-18) of HLB.
Ca-630 is completely miscible with water.
Human Toxicity
CA-630 is not a primary skin irritant nor sensitizer. However, it is a severe eye irritant.