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Environmental Sciences Europe

Table 1 Water-soluble synthetic organic polymers considered in the present review

From: Environmental fate and effects of water-soluble synthetic organic polymers used in cosmetic products

Considered polymer: technical name

Systematic namea,b,c

CAS numbera, b

INCI nameb,d

Polymer class

Non-ionic polymers: polyethylene glycols (PEGs)

 PEG-200e

Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), α-hydro-ω-hydroxy-

(Average MW: 200 Da)

25322–68-3f

PEG-4e

Polyethylene glycols

 PEG-400e

(Average MW: 400 Da)

25322–68-3f, 5117–19-1

PEG-8e

 PEG-600e

(Average MW: 600 Da)

25322–68-3f

PEG-12e

 PEG-1000e

(Average MW: 1000 Da)

PEG-20e

 PEG-1500e

(Average MW: 1500 Da)

PEG-32e

 PEG-4000e

(Average MW: 4000 Da)

PEG-90e

 PEG-6000 e

(Average MW: 6000 Da)

PEG-150e

 PEG-8000e

(Average MW: 8000 Da)

PEG-180e

 PEG-20,000e

(Average MW: 20,000 Da)

PEG-450e

 PEG-4,000,000e

(Average MW: 4,000,000 Da)

PEG-90 Me

Anionic polymers: homo- and copolymers of acrylic acid (AA-P&CoPs)

 Homopolymer of acrylic acid (P-AA)

2-Propenoic acid, homopolymer, sodium salt

9003–04-7, 25549–84-2

Sodium Polyacrylate

Polycarboxylates: polyacrylates

 Methacrylic acid-ethyl acrylate copolymer (MAEA-CoP)

2-Propenoic acid, 2-methyl-, polymer with ethyl 2-propenoate

25212–88-8

Acrylate Copolymerg

 Acrylamide-acrylic acid copolymer (AAmAA-CoP)

2-Propenoic acid, polymer with 2-propenamide, sodium salt

25085–02-3, 25987–30-8

Acrylamide/Sodium Acrylate Copolymer

Polycarboxylates: polyacrylamides

Cationic polymers: polyquaterniums (PQs)

 Polyquaternium-6h (PQ-6)

2-Propen-1-aminium, N,N-dimethyl-N-2-propen-1-yl-, chloride (1:1), homopolymer

26062–79-3

Polyquaternium-6h

Polyquaterniums

 Polyquaternium-7h (PQ-7)

2-Propen-1-aminium, N,N-dimethyl-N-2-propen-1-yl-, chloride (1:1), polymer with 2-propenamide

26590–05-6

Polyquaternium-7h

 Polyquaternium-10h (PQ-10)

Cellulose, 2-(2-hydroxy-3-(trimethylammonium) propoxy)ethyl ether, chloride

68610–92-4, 53568–66-4, 54351–50-7, 55353–19-0, 81859–24-7

Polyquaternium-10h

 Polyquaternium-16h (PQ-16)

1H-Imidazolium, 1-ethenyl-3-methyl-, chloride, polymer with 1-ethenyl-2-pyrrolidinone

95144–24-4

Polyquaternium-16h

  1. All considered polymers are used in cosmetic products
  2. aBased on [39]
  3. bBased on [40]
  4. cInformation on the molecular weight (MW) of the polyethylene glycols is part of their systematic name and therefore provided in column 2. For information on the MW of the other polymers, see Additional file 1: Tables S2 and S3
  5. dInternational Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) names are used to identify cosmetic ingredients and to label cosmetic products in a harmonised way (see Additional file 1, Sect. 1)
  6. eFor the polyethylene glycols (PEGs), the technical names (column 1) are based on the average molecular weight (MW). The INCI names of the PEGs (column 4) refer to the average number of ethylene oxide (EO) monomers. For instance, a PEG with an average MW of 200 Da, which consists of 4 EO monomers, is termed PEG-200 (technical name) or PEG-4 (INCI name)
  7. fGeneric CAS number
  8. gNote that the INCI name ‘Acrylate Copolymers’ is used for copolymers of two or more monomers consisting of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, or one of their simple esters, i.e., not only includes MAEA-CoP, but also other polymers (see, e.g., [40])
  9. hNumbers of the polyquaterniums follow the numerical order of their INCI registration and do not characterise their chemistry
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