Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, or HPMC, is a crucial chemical that can help many products succeed. There are many kinds of products, and the industries they belong to are pharmaceutical, skincare, paint, adhesive, packaged food, and construction materials. The desired outcome is hard to expect unless this chemical is added to their products.
These HPMC grades are classified into three forms. Low, medium, and high viscosity. The viscosity level ranges from 5 mPa.s to 10,000 mPa.s and higher in them. Also, a degree of substitution shows an average number of hydroxyl groups on every anhydroglucose unit replaced by hydroxypropyl and methoxyl groups. DS contributes to the HPMC products' binding strength, film-forming property, viscosity, and water retention abilities. Find out more about them below.
This grade has low thickness and high flowability. Its low molecular weight makes it light, highly flowable for quick application, and less strong bonds. This HPMC grade is used in industries that require low viscosity in a chemical for fast application and thin coating. There are many products in the medical, food, and chemical industries where only a thin coat is required to keep a product intact. That thin coat comes from HPMC's low-viscosity grade.
Then comes the second HPMC grade, which is the medium-viscosity grade. This grade has medium thickness and flowability for a balanced viscosity level. Some products need a medium level when neither low nor high viscosity grade is good for them. Some medicines, like tablets, need medium-level binders for swallowing and digestible purposes. A medium grade is suitable since a thin coating is not good enough for some products. It is called a controlled-release drug delivery system for the safety of some sensitive organs in the body. A protective coat works to save those organs from the medicinal effect.
HPMC is a high-viscosity grade with high thickness and low flowability. This grade is common in some industries, such as construction materials and adhesives. Since cement and tiles require some thick viscosity for strength and thickness, only a high-viscosity grade is the best choice. This high viscosity increases workability and strong bonding. Its thickening capacity and water retention capacity are high. Its low flowability is due to its high molecular weight, strengthening it in construction materials, paints, and adhesives.
Multiple industries use HPMC in their production to add viscosity. Since different products have different natures, industries use different HPMC grades for other products. Some need low-viscosity grades, and some need medium and high grades of HPMC.
The skincare industry heavily relies on HPMC to make the products easily flowable and to create thin coats. Creams, lotions, serums, and all liquid products need HPMC to flow at an optimum level for smooth texture and usage. Therefore, lotions and creams spread on the skin without any resistance. Also, they are thin enough to flow and create a thin layer on the skin. They form a film with the skin to be absorbed quickly. HPMC also helps the manufacturers achieve the emulsification process in the production process.
Ever wonder how some packaged food products survive long with smooth texture? HPMC contributes to that quality of food. Usually, a low-viscosity HPMC is used for film formation, emulsification, stabilization, and thickening processes. Sauces, dairy products, canned food, and many packaged foods need a low-viscosity grade of HPMC. Manufacturers in the packaged food industry use HPMC to add thickness and flowability.
Tablets are not supposed to react with some organs in the body, and HPMC is used to prevent this. You might have noticed a thin film on tablets and capsules, preventing them from dissolving inside the mouth or throat. HPMC grades of low and medium viscosity are used to add film to the surface of medicines. The film also binds the tablets to keep them in shape until they reach the stomach.
The paint's flowability, texture, and adhesion come from low and medium viscosity HPMC grades. Without the addition of HPMC, there will be no film formation, binding, viscosity, and smooth flowability in paints. Different paints have different thickness levels. That thickness level is controlled by using the correct HPMC grade and its degree of substitution. It also adds workability to them, so painters can perform the finest paint job. The paint does not dry as far as it is being spread with a brush. This workability comes from HPMC.
There are many types of adhesives in the industry, and every adhesive needs HPMC grades of medium and high viscosity. Some adhesives also have low viscosity. However, medium and high-viscosity types are more common in the industry. Adding HPMC to adhesives is beneficial because it creates strong bonding, flowability, thickness, and workability. Therefore, workers using adhesives get enough time to apply adhesives in construction works and other applications.
The construction grade HPMC helps products with high workability, binding, and adhesion. HPMC grades like medium and high viscosity fulfill this industry's requirement well. Wall putty, tile adhesives, mortars, and plasters are some of the most common construction materials that need HPMC. HPMC's medium and high viscosity grades make these products thick and workable. Tile setters get enough time to install and adjust tiles until they finish the job. The addition of HPMC is the reason why adhesives remain workable. Another reason is the water retention ability in the construction materials, which comes from HPMC.
Some chemicals seem ordinary until you know their worth in different industries. One is HPMC (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose), which adds workability, water retention, binding, thickness, and film formation to the desired product. Therefore, industries like paint, construction material, skincare, packaged food, and pharmaceutical products succeed.
