Surfactants derived from 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio) butyric acid were investigated. Anionic surfactants derived from this molecule have excellent water solubility, hardness tolerance and surface activity. Nonionic surfactants based on this molecule presented excellent phase behavior in water, high surface activity, good foaming/wetting ability, and good laundry performance. The headgroup hydrophilicity of the nonionic surfactants were enhanced with oligomeric sulfoxide ester units or extra ethylene oxide units, and their water solubility and surface activity were improved from the monomer sulfoxide esters, while maintaining good foaming, wetting and laundry performances. The application of these surfactant classes was further explored; a potential foam- breaker class and a promising emulsifier family were found
