PEG 400 explained

PEG 400 (polyethylene glycol 400) is a low-molecular-weight grade of polyethylene glycol. It is a clear, colorless, viscous liquid. Due in part to its low toxicity, PEG 400 is widely used in a variety of pharmaceutical formulations.

Chemical properties

PEG 400 is strongly hydrophilic. The partition coefficient of PEG 400 between hexane and water is 0.000015 (log

P = -4 . 8 ), indicating that when PEG 400 is mixed with water and hexane, there are only 15 parts of PEG400 in the hexane layer per 1 million parts of PEG 400 in the water layer.^[1]

PEG 400 is soluble in water, acetone, alcohols, benzene, glycerin, glycols, and aromatic hydrocarbons. It is not miscible with aliphatic hydrocarbons nor diethyl ether. Therefore, reaction products can be extracted from the reaction media with those solvents.

References

• The Merck Index, 11th Edition
• Handbook of Pharmaceutical Excipients

Notes and References

1. PEG 400, a hydrophilic molecular probe for measuring intestinal permeability. T. Y. Ma . D. Hollander . P. Krugliak . K. Katz . Gastroenterology. 98. 1. 39–46. 1990. 10.1016/0016-5085(90)91288-h . 2293598.