Polysorbate 20 is used as a wetting agent in flavored mouth drops such as Ice Drops, helping to provide a spreading feeling to other ingredients like SD alcohol and mint flavor.

In biological techniques and sciences, polysorbate 20 has a broad range of applications. For example, it is used:

• as a washing agent in immunoassays, such as Western blots and ELISAs
• to saturate binding sites on surfaces (i.e., to coat polystyrene microplates, generally combined with proteins such as BSA).
• to stabilize proteins purified protein derivative (PPD) solution used in skin testing for tuberculosis exposure
• as a solubilizing agent of membrane proteins

Polysorbate 20 is used as an excipient in pharmaceutical applications to stabilize emulsions and suspensions.

Polysorbate 20 is used in many brands of baby wipes.

Polysorbate 20 is used by philatelists to remove stamps from envelopes and to remove residues from stamps, without harming the stamp itself.

Polysorbate 20 is also used as wetting agent in rubber balers in the elastomer industry.

Polysorbate 20 has been used as a shape directing agent to synthesize spheroidal magnetite nanoassemblies.