Non-detergent sulfobetaines are zwitterionic substances, which do not form micelles due to too short hydrophobic side chains even at high concentrations. NDSB-201 is used for solubilization of proteins for proteomic applications.

It prevents protein aggregation and non-specific interactions of proteins and  facilitates the renaturation of chemically and thermally denatured proteins.
NDSB-201 has also successfully been used as catalyst for the chlormethylation of alkylbebzenes

Synonym: Non-Detergent Sufobetaine 201; PPS; 3-(1-Pyridino)-1-propane sulfonate; 1-(3-Sulfo-propyl)pyridinium betaine

CAS registry number: [15471-17-7]

Molecular formula: C₈H₁₁NO₃S

Relative molecular mass (M_r): 201.2

Bibliography

Vuillard, L. et al. (1995) Non-detergent sulfobetaines: a new class of mild solubilization agents for protein purification. Biochem. J. 305, 337 – 43.

Goldberg, M.E. et al. (1996) Non-detergent sulfobetaines: a new class of molecules that facilitate in vitro protein renaturation. Folding & Design 1, 21-7.

Hermann, V.M. et al. (2005) Biophysical characterization of ERp29 evidence for a key structural role of cysteine 125. J. Biol. Chem. 280, 13529-37.

Willis, M.S. et al. (2005) Investigation of protein refolding using a fractional factorial screen: A study of reagent effects and interactions. Protein Sci. 14, 1818-26.

Narita, H. et al. (2011) Refolding, crystallization and preliminary x-ray crystallographic study of the whole extracellular regions of nectins. Acta Crystallogr. Sect. F Struct. Biol. Cryst. Commun. 67, 344-8.