Quick answer: lactobionic acid and gluconolactone are both called PHAs, but they are different INCIs. One is an open aldonic acid from lactose. The other is a smaller lactone that opens toward gluconic acid in water. Order one drum at a time; a dual-name retail label does not make them substitutes.
Lactobionic Acid is the lactose-derived acid in Lactobionic Acid: PHA from Oxidized Lactose, Not Lactic Acid. How that acid differs from lactic acid is in Lactobionic vs Lactic Acid: 358 g/mol Is Not 90 g/mol.
Acid and lactone are not aliases
PubChem lists lactobionic acid as C12H22O12, molecular weight 358.30. The structure is a galactose unit attached to gluconic acid—already the open aldonic acid. Gluconolactone is the lactone, C6H10O6, molecular weight 178.14. In water the lactone opens toward gluconic acid.
Both are called polyhydroxy acids because both present several hydroxyl groups. The INCI names are not aliases. CosIng lists lactobionic acid’s function as buffering; use level and finished pH still come from the TDS of the grade you bought.
A combination label is not a substitution license
A retail toner that lists gluconolactone and lactobionic acid together is using a combination. That combination is not a license to fill a lactobionic acid order with gluconolactone, or the reverse. Ask the brief which INCI is required, then match the COA.
You can place both in one chassis when the brief wants two PHA lines. That is two SKUs, two assays, two sample packs. Warehouse shorthand such as “PHA blend” or “gentle acid” is not enough for either line.
Process still follows each TDS
Lactobionic acid on this site dissolves in the water phase as the open acid; finished pH is commonly steered in a mild acid window such as about 3.0–5.0 for this grade. Gluconolactone brings lactone-to-acid opening behavior in water, so its weigh-up, pH drift, and assay wording can differ from an aldonic-acid powder even when both are sold as white solids.
Copying a lactobionic percent onto a gluconolactone line, or the reverse, without checking form and TDS is a process error as well as an identity error. Set each pilot percent from the TDS of the drum you buy.
What changes on the purchase order
| Field | Lactobionic Acid | Gluconolactone |
|---|---|---|
| INCI | Lactobionic Acid | Gluconolactone |
| Structure habit | Open aldonic acid (+ galactose unit) | Lactone (opens in water) |
| Formula (PubChem) | C12H22O12 | C6H10O6 |
| Molecular weight | ~358.30 | ~178.14 |
| Common CAS (lactobionic) | 96-82-2 | Follow that grade’s COA |
| On this site | Product page | Product page |
What to put in the sample or quote email
- Exact INCI: Lactobionic Acid or Gluconolactone
- Matching CAS / assay for the grade you want
- Physical form and water-phase handling notes from that TDS
- One line stating open lactose-derived acid vs lactone PHA, so the wrong powder is not substituted
- If both are needed, two separate lines with two pack sizes
Documents and samples for lactobionic acid are on the Lactobionic Acid page. Gluconolactone has its own Gluconolactone page. Send the inquiry to the page that matches the INCI you locked.
