Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), sometimes written sodium laurilsulfate, is an organic compound with the formula CH3(CH2)11OSO3Na and structure H3C−(CH2)11−O−S(=O)2−O−Na+. It is an anionic surfactant used in many cleaning and hygiene products. This compound is the sodium salt of the 12-carbon organosulfate. Its hydrocarbon tail combined with a polar "headgroup" give the compound amphiphilic properties that make it useful as a detergent. SDS is also component of mixtures produced from inexpensive coconut and palm oils. SDS is a common component of many domestic cleaning, personal hygiene and cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food products, as well as of industrial and commercial cleaning and product formulations.[2]SDS is used in cleaning procedures, [11] and is commonly used as a component for lysing cells during RNA extraction or DNA extraction, inhibiting the activity of nucleases, enzymes that can degrade DNA, protecting the integrity of the isolated genetic material, and for denaturing proteins in preparation for electrophoresis in the SDS-PAGE technique.[12]Denaturation of a protein using SDS In the case of SDS-PAGE, the compound works by disrupting non-covalent bonds in the proteins, and so denaturing them, i.e. causing the protein molecules to lose their native conformations and shapes. By binding to proteins at a ratio of one SDS molecule per 2 amino acid residues, the negatively charged detergent provides all proteins with a similar net negative charge and therefore a similar charge-to-mass ratio.[13] In this way, the difference in mobility of the polypeptide chains in the gel can be attributed solely to their length as opposed to both their native charge and shape.[13][14] This separation based on the size of the polypeptide chain simplifies the analysis of protein