Both are non-ionic detergents though Triton X-100 appears to function better at breaking up cell membranes and purifying membrane proteins.
Because Triton X-100 relatively stronger detergents than Tween 20. This has to do with it's CMC value.
May be something here:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0076687909630342
Hi James, There are no hard and fast rules about how well detergents work and it is highly dependent on what you want to solubilize.
If you look at the structure of detergents, SDS and tween-20 have the same C12 hydrophobic tail. SDS has a negative headgroup and tween-20 has a branched polyol headgroup that is polar
https://www.labome.com/method/Detergents-Triton-X-100-Tween-20-and-More.html
SDS can solubilize almost all lipid and protein structures. Tween-20, not so much. TX has no headgroup.
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