E1201 Stabiliser

E1201  added to iodine forms a complex called povidone-iodine that possesses disinfectant properties. This complex is used in various products like solutions, ointment, pessaries, liquid soaps, and surgical scrubs. It is known under the trade names Pyodine and Betadine, among a plethora of others.

E1201 It is used in pleurodesis (fusion of the pleura because of incessant pleural effusions). For this purpose, povidone-iodine is equally effective and safe as talc and may be preferred because of its easy availability and low cost.

E1201 is used in some contact lenses and their packaging solutions. It reduces friction, thus acting as a lubricant, or wetting agent, built into the lens. Examples of this use include Bausch & Lomb's Ultra contact lenses with MoistureSeal Technology and Air Optix contact lens packaging solution. 

E1201 is used as a lubricant in some eye drops, e.g. Bausch & Lomb's Soothe.

E1201 is also used in 

• as an adhesive in a glue stick and hot-melt adhesives
• as a special additive for batteries, ceramics, fiberglass, inks, and inkjet paper, and in the chemical-mechanical planarization process
• as an emulsifier and disintegrant for solution polymerization
• to increase resolution in photoresists for cathode-ray tubes 
• in aqueous metal quenching
• for production of membranes, such as dialysis and water purification filters
• as a binder and complexation agent in agricultural applications such as crop protection, seed treatment, and coating
• as a thickening agent in tooth whitening gels as an aid for increasing the solubility of drugs in liquid and semi-liquid dosage forms (syrups, soft gelatine capsules) and as an inhibitor of recrystallization 
• as an additive to Doro's RNA extraction buffer[citation needed]
• as a liquid-phase dispersion enhancing agent in DOSY NMR 
• as a surfactant, reducing agent, shape controlling agent, and dispersant in nanoparticle synthesis and their self-assembly
• as a stabilizing agent in all-inorganic solar cells

E1201 binds to polar molecules exceptionally well, owing to its polarity. This has led to its application in coatings for photo-quality ink-jet papers and transparencies, as well as in inks for inkjet printers.

E1201 is also used in personal care products, such as shampoos and toothpaste, in paints, and adhesives that must be moistened, such as old-style postage stamps and envelopes. It has also been used in contact lens solutions and in steel-quenching solutions.E1201 is the basis of the early formulas for hair sprays and hair gels, and still continues to be a component of some.

As a food additive, E1201 is a stabilizer and has E number E1201.   It is also used in the wine industry as a fining agent for white wine and some beers.

In molecular biology, E1201 can be used as a blocking agent during Southern blot analysis as a component of Denhardt's buffer. It is also exceptionally good at absorbing polyphenols during DNA purification. Polyphenols are common in many plant tissues and can deactivate proteins if not removed and therefore inhibit many downstream reactions like PCR.

In microscopy, E1201 is useful for making an aqueous mounting medium.

E1201 can be used to screen for phenolic properties, as referenced in a 2000 study on the effect of plant extracts on insulin products.