"A practical supplier guide to Sarcosine (CAS 107-97-1, C3H7NO2, EINECS 203-538-6): what this N-methylglycine amino acid is, its role as the parent of mild sarcosinate surfactants and a pharmaceutical/dyestuff intermediate, its specification (colorless to white crystals, mp 208-212 C dec, water-soluble, store below +30 C), handling and buyer notes, and how it links to the amino-acid and cosmetic raw-material cluster."
-Deshangchemical-chemechemi
Sarcosine (CAS 107-97-1): The Small Amino Acid Behind Mild Surfactants and Clean Intermediates
Most buyers meet sarcosine long before they learn its name. It sits upstream of the gentle, amino-acid-based cleansers that fill the premium personal-care shelf, and it also turns up as a quiet workhorse in pharmaceutical and dyestuff synthesis. If you source Sarcosine (CAS 107-97-1) in bulk, you are really buying a flexible N-methylated glycine that a dozen downstream processes can shape to their needs.
What sarcosine actually is
Sarcosine is the common name for N-methylglycine, a non-protein amino acid with the formula C3H7NO2. It occurs naturally in the body as an intermediate in the metabolism of choline into glycine, which is one reason it shows up in biochemical and nutrition research as well as in industrial synthesis. Chemically it behaves like a small, water-soluble zwitterion: easy to dissolve, easy to handle, and stable enough for standard warehousing.
On the bench it presents as colorless to white-to-yellow crystals or a fine powder. The melting point sits around 208–212 °C with decomposition, density is about 1.19, and it dissolves readily in water (roughly 1 M at 20 °C). Those are the numbers our QC team checks against, and they are the numbers a formulator should expect on the certificate of analysis.
Typical specification snapshot
| CAS number | 107-97-1 |
| Molecular formula | C3H7NO2 |
| Synonyms | N-methylglycine, N-methylglycocoll, methylglycine |
| EINECS | 203-538-6 |
| Appearance | Colorless or white to yellow crystals / powder |
| Melting point | 208–212 °C (dec.) |
| Density | ~1.19 |
| Solubility | Water-soluble (1 M at 20 °C) |
| Storage | Store below +30 °C, sealed, dry |
Where it earns its keep
The biggest commercial pull for sarcosine is the surfactant family built on top of it. React sarcosine with a fatty acyl chloride and you get a sarcosinate — the class of mild, amino-acid-derived anionic surfactants that personal-care brands favor for baby shampoo, facial cleansers, and toothpaste. Our own Sodium Lauroylsarcosinate (CAS 137-16-6) is the lauric-chain version, and N-oleoylsarcosine (CAS 110-25-8) is the oleic-chain cousin used where a more lipophilic surface agent is wanted. Sarcosine is the starting amino acid for both, so its price and purity ripple straight into the cost of those finished actives.
Beyond surfactants, sarcosine is a recognized pharmaceutical and organic intermediate. It appears in routes toward active ingredients, in dyestuff chemistry as a building block, and in synthesis-material intermediates where a small, methylated amino acid unit is the right handle to attach. Researchers also use it as a biochemical reagent, which keeps a steady lab-grade demand alongside the industrial volumes.
There is a neat metabolic link worth noting for buyers who also stock fitness and nutrition raw materials: sarcosine sits in the same methyl-transfer network as Creatine monohydrate (CAS 6020-87-7). They are not the same molecule, but they share the N-methylglycine skeleton, and formulators who buy one often ask about the other. Keeping both on the same quote sheet saves procurement a round trip.
Handling and buyer notes
Sarcosine is not a difficult raw material to store, but a few practical points keep batches clean. Keep it below +30 °C in a sealed container away from moisture, because the powder is hygroscopic once exposed. For production lots we normally supply food- and pharma-grade material with ISO and SGS documentation, and we can tighten assay or heavy-metal limits on request for sensitive surfactant or API routes.
Packaging usually runs from 1 kg foil bags for lab and trial use up to 25 kg fiber drums for bulk. Minimum order is commonly 1 kg, which lets a formulator validate a new sarcosinate line before committing to a full container. Lead time depends on grade and volume, but standard material from stock typically ships within a few working days.
From a sourcing standpoint, the advantage of buying from an established Chinese supplier is consistency across the amino-acid cluster. The same warehouse that ships sarcosine can bundle Citric Acid Anhydrous (CAS 77-92-9) for pH control, Urea (CAS 57-13-6) as a humectant, and the surfactant actives above — one invoice, one customs entry, fewer variables to manage.
Fitting sarcosine into a cosmetic raw-material plan
Formulators building a mild-cleanser line will usually spec sarcosine indirectly through its sarcosinate derivatives, but knowing the parent amino acid helps when troubleshooting foam, irritation, or cost. For teams developing brightening or anti-aging systems, sarcosine is a useful neighbor to the actives we supply alongside it: Kojic acid (CAS 501-30-4), Alpha-Arbutin (CAS 84380-01-8), and L-Ascorbic Acid (CAS 50-81-7) cover the brightening side, while GHK-Cu (CAS 49557-75-7) and Argireline (CAS 616204-22-9) cover the peptide side, and Squalane (CAS 111-01-3) carries actives into the skin.
For clarifying systems the exfoliating acids pair well: Glycolic acid (CAS 79-14-1), Salicylic acid (CAS 69-72-7), Azelaic acid (CAS 123-99-9), and Capryloyl Salicylic Acid (CAS 78418-01-6) are all in the same catalog. Sarcosine will not replace any of those, but it rounds out a single-source raw-material list for a lab that wants to keep qualification paperwork simple.
Bottom line
Sarcosine (CAS 107-97-1) is one of those small molecules that quietly supports a lot of finished products. As the parent of the sarcosinate surfactants it helps make gentle cleansers possible, and as a pharmaceutical and dyestuff intermediate it keeps showing up wherever a compact, water-soluble amino acid is the right building block. For buyers, the win is straightforward: a stable, well-documented bulk raw material that links naturally to the rest of an amino-acid and cosmetic raw-material order. If you are scoping a new cleanser or intermediate route, ask us for a current COA and a sample — most teams know within one trial batch whether the grade fits.
