Ingredients --

Imidazolidinyl urea

Chemical Formula:

Synonyms

Description

White powder. Highly soluble, hygroscopic.

Uses

Imidazolidinyl urea kills Gram-negative bacteria. It acts synergistically with the parabens to provide a broad-spectrum antibiotic effective against molds, yeast, and bacteria.

The combination of the two is the most widely used preservative in cosmetics.

It works by releasing formaldehyde into the product, like the related preservative DMDM hydantoin.

Imidazolidinyl urea: InChI=1/C11H16N8O8/c20-2-18-4(6(22)16-10(18)26)14-8(24)12-1-13-9(25)15-5-7(23)17-11(27)19(5)3-21/h4-5,20-21H,1-3H2,(H2,12,14,24)(H2,13,15,25)(H,16,22,26)(H,17,23,27)/f/h12-17H

allantoin: InChI=1/C4H6N4O3/c5-3(10)6-1-2(9)8-4(11)7-1/h1H,(H3,5,6,10)(H2,7,8,9,11)/f/h6-8H,5H2

DMDM Hydantoin: InChI=1/C7H12N2O4/c1-7(2)5(12)8(3-10)6(13)9(7)4-11/h10-11H,3-4H2,1-2H3

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By Simon Quellen Field