"A practical supplier guide to N-Oleoylsarcosine (CAS 110-25-8, C21H39NO3, EINECS 203-749-3): what this oleoyl sarcosine derivative is, its dual role as a corrosion inhibitor and mild amphoteric surfactant/emulsifier, its specification (light yellow to yellow, mp 16.1-17.0 C, density 0.961, room-temperature storage), handling and buyer notes, and how it links to the sarcosine and cosmetic raw-material cluster."
-Deshangchemical-chemechemi
N-Oleoylsarcosine (CAS 110-25-8): The Fatty-Acid Sarcosinate That Quiets Corrosion and Lifts Mild Formulas
If you have spent any time buying sarcosine derivatives, you already know the family is quietly useful. N-oleoylsarcosine (CAS 110-25-8) is the oleoyl version of that chemistry: take N-methylglycine, attach an oleic-acid chain, and you get a long-tail amphoteric that behaves like a surfactant, an emulsifier, and a corrosion inhibitor at the same time. We stock it as a light yellow to yellow liquid-grade material, and it is one of those raw materials that earns a place in metalworking blends, industrial cleaners, and mild personal-care systems without needing a long supporting cast of additives.
What the spec sheet actually says
Buyers usually ask the same four questions first, so here is the data as it ships:
| CAS | 110-25-8 |
| Molecular formula | C21H39NO3 |
| Molecular weight | 353.54 |
| EINECS | 203-749-3 |
| Appearance | Light yellow to yellow |
| Melting point | 16.1-17.0 °C |
| Density | 0.961 g/mL |
| Storage | Store at room temperature |
That melting point tells you most of what you need to know about handling. At 16-17 °C the material is right at the edge of solid and liquid, so in most warehouses and mixing rooms it arrives and stays as a pourable, oily liquid. There is no special cold chain, no freeze-thaw drama, and no gelling surprise in the drum. Plan your transfer lines around a low-viscosity fluid rather than a powder, and the rest is straightforward.
Why formulators reach for it
The headline use is corrosion inhibition. In aqueous metalworking fluids, circulating water systems, and alkaline cleaners, the oleoyl sarcosinate film forms a thin adsorbed layer on ferrous and non-ferrous surfaces that slows the oxidation couple long enough to keep parts clean between operations. The advantage over heavier inhibitor chemistries is that it pulls double duty: it protects the metal and it helps the emulsion stay stable, so you are not adding a separate surfactant just to keep the oil and water from splitting.
That dual role is the reason we see the same material show up in three different buying profiles. The first is metalworking and rolling-fluid buyers who want lubricity and rust resistance in one drum. The second is industrial and institutional cleaning suppliers building alkaline or mildly acidic degreasers where a biodegradable, low-irritation surfactant helps the formula pass a safety review. The third is personal-care chemists looking for a mild amphoteric that pairs well with established brighteners and emollients without fighting the preservative system.
How it sits next to the other sarcosinates
It helps to think of the family as a ladder. Sarcosine is the parent amino acid. Step up to sodium lauroylsarcosinate and you get the well-known mild anionic surfactant used in toothpastes and gentle cleansers. N-oleoylsarcosine is the longer-chain, less water-soluble cousin: more oil-loving, more corrosion-focused, and better suited to emulsions and metal protection than to a foamy rinse-off product. None of the three replaces the others; they cover different ends of the same chain-length story, and most of our repeat buyers keep two of them on the shelf at once.
For customers coming from the personal-care side, the natural clustering is with the actives that already sit in a gentle routine. A brightening or antioxidant system built around kojic acid, alpha-arbutin, or L-ascorbic acid rarely needs an oleoyl sarcosinate, but the moment a formula needs an emulsifier that will not spike irritation scores, this is the kind of linker ingredient that gets specified. Likewise, where a cream needs a stable carrier, squalane handles the bulk phase while a small sarcosinate fraction keeps the interface calm.
Practical handling and formulation notes
In our experience the issues that cost formulators time are rarely about purity and almost always about temperature and pH. Because the material is a liquid near room temperature, warm the drum gently in winter before pumping rather than trying to shear it cold. It is compatible with the typical alkaline cleaner and metalworking pH window, and it tolerates the chelating environment you get when citric acid anhydrous or a humectant like urea is already in the blend. We still recommend a small bench emulsion test when you switch suppliers, because lot-to-lot color can drift between light yellow and a deeper yellow without changing the functional numbers.
Storage is uncomplicated: a sealed container at room temperature, away from strong oxidizers, keeps the material stable through a normal production cycle. There is no cryogenic requirement, which is one reason contract manufacturers like it for multi-site plants where one spec has to behave the same in two climates.
Where it fits in a purchasing plan
If your current supplier list already includes the sarcosine family or the cosmetic actives above, N-oleoylsarcosine is an easy addition rather than a new qualification exercise. It is a single intermediate that bridges the industrial and personal-care sides of the catalog, which keeps your paperwork light and your inventory flexible. For metal-protection buyers it is a direct corrosion-inhibitor line item; for surfactant buyers it is a mild co-emulsifier; for R&D it is a low-risk molecule to test when an emulsion needs one more stabilizing hand.
As with every raw material we move, the practical path is to start from the spec table, confirm the appearance and melting range on the incoming lot, and run a short compatibility check against your existing surfactants and chelators. The chemistry is forgiving, the handling is simple, and the dual corrosion-plus-emulsion behavior is what keeps N-oleoylsarcosine on the reorder list once a formulator has seen it work.
To check current grades, pack sizes, and lead times, see the N-oleoylsarcosine product page, or talk to our team about combining it with the related sarcosine and sodium lauroylsarcosinate items in one shipment.
