Methyl Cellulose

Methyl Cellulose(MC)

Methyl cellulose is a water-soluble polymer derived from natural cellulose, with excellent thickening, film-forming, suspension and emulsifying properties. It is widely used in the pharmaceutical, food, cosmetics, building materials, coatings and agricultural industries.

MC(methylcellulose)

It is a white or off-white fibrous or granular powder, odorless and tasteless. It is almost insoluble in anhydrous ethanol, ether, and acetone; it quickly disperses and swells in hot water at 80-90℃, and quickly dissolves after cooling. The aqueous solution is quite stable at room temperature.

Complies with the standards of the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (Part IV);

Registration number: F20209990407/F20180000534

Viscosity Specifications

Viscosity Specifications

Note: Test conditions: Viscosity 2% ,aqueous solution at 20°C

Solubility: Almost insoluble in a mixture of ethanol, ether, and chloroform (1:1), it can form a clear or suspended viscous solution. It swells rapidly in hot water at 80-90°C, and dissolves rapidly after cooling. It is quite stable in water at room temperature, gels at high temperatures, and undergoes a reversible transition from gel to dissolution after heating and cooling.

Characteristics: It is non-ionic and can be used with other emulsifiers, but it is easy to salt out. The solution is stable in the pH range of 2-12.

Density: 1.3g/cm³ Apparent density: 0.25-0.7g/cm³

Color change temperature: 190-200°C

Carbonization temperature: 225-230°C

Surface tension: (25°C) 47-53dyn/cm

Methylcellulose is physiologically inert and is widely used as a thickener, protective colloid, auxiliary emulsifier, pigment, tablet adhesive and film-forming agent in medicines, foods and cosmetics. It can also be used as a matrix for suspension or viscous eye drops, as well as a stabilizer for drugs. It is the main raw material for oral laxatives, mouthwashes and corneal contact lens wetting solutions. It is also used as a skeleton material. MC is used to prepare hydrophilic gel skeleton sustained-release preparations, microporous membranes or multi-layer coating film sustained-release preparations. Low-viscosity 55TZ20 is generally used as an emulsifier for water-in-oil emulsions: 55TZ2500 and 55TZ4500 are often used as dissolving viscosity, thickening, suspension and tablet bonding.

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  01

  Eye drops

  Methylcellulose can increase the retention time of eye drops on the surface of the eye. Due to its thickening effect, it can make the drug adhere to the surface of the eye for a longer time, thereby improving the effectiveness of the drug.

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  02

  Drug-Binders

  Methylcellulose can be used as a binder during the production of tablets and granules. It can effectively bind powdered or granular drug ingredients together to form a mixture suitable for compression, helping to increase the hardness of tablets and reduce dust.

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  03

  Drug-Disintegrant

  Methylcellulose itself is a thickener, and some types of it can quickly absorb water and swell when in contact with water, thereby helping solid dosage forms such as tablets to disintegrate quickly and promoting the dissolution and absorption of drugs.

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  04

  Drug-suspending agent

  For suspensions containing insoluble drug components, methylcellulose can be used as a suspending agent to prevent solid particles from settling, ensure that the drug is evenly distributed throughout the liquid, and ensure that the dosage used each time is accurate.

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  05

  Hydrophilic gel skeleton materials

  Methylcellulose can dissolve in water and form a transparent to translucent viscous solution. As the temperature rises, it can form a thermoreversible gel. This property makes it an ideal hydrophilic gel skeleton material.

The production process of methyl cellulose mainly includes the following steps:

1.Raw material preparation: The production of methyl cellulose is based on natural cellulose, and common raw materials include wood, cotton, bagasse, etc. In order to ensure the effective reactivity of cellulose, the raw cellulose usually needs to be processed by crushing, rinsing and drying before use.

2.Alkalinization reaction: Cellulose and sodium hydroxide react with alkalization under certain conditions to generate alkaline cellulose. The main purpose of this step is to open the molecular structure of cellulose through the action of sodium hydroxide, thereby creating conditions for the subsequent etherification reaction. Reaction temperature and alkali concentration are two key factors affecting the alkalization effect. Usually, the alkalization reaction is carried out at a lower temperature to ensure that cellulose is not over-degraded, and the reaction time is generally 30 minutes to 1 hour.

3.Etherification reaction: After the alkalization reaction is completed, alkaline cellulose reacts with sodium chloroacetate in an aqueous solution to generate methyl cellulose. This is the core step of the entire process. The conditions of the etherification reaction (such as temperature, pH value and reaction time) will determine the degree of substitution, molecular weight and solubility of methyl cellulose. Usually the etherification reaction is carried out at a moderate temperature (50°C to 70°C) and the reaction time can be up to several hours. In order to improve the uniformity of the reaction and the degree of substitution of methylcellulose, sufficient stirring is required during the reaction.

4.‌Neutralization and washing‌: After the etherification reaction is completed, the product needs to be washed to remove residual by-products (such as unreacted sodium chloroacetate and sodium hydroxide) to ensure the purity of the final product.

5.‌Drying and crushing‌: The prepared methylcellulose solution is dried and crushed into powders within a specified particle size range to ensure the uniformity and fluidity of the product.

Avoid sun, rain and moisture.

This product is packaged in a round cardboard bucket (lined with a medicinal polyethylene film inner bag).

Net weight per piece :20kg or 15kg.