Analysis of the Substituent Distribution in Cellulose Ethers – Recent Contributions

Chapter 7 Analysis of the Substituent Distribution in Cellulose Ethers – Recent Contributions Petra Mischnick, Petra Mischnick Braunschweig University of Technology, Faculty of Life Science, Institute of Food Chemistry, 38106 Braunschweig, GermanySearch for more papers by this author Petra Mischnick, Petra Mischnick Braunschweig University of Technology, Faculty of Life Science, Institute of Food Chemistry, 38106 Braunschweig, GermanySearch for more papers by this author Book Editor(s):Thomas Rosenau, Thomas RosenauSearch for more papers by this authorAntje Potthast, Antje PotthastSearch for more papers by this authorJohannes Hell, Johannes HellSearch for more papers by this author First published: 29 November 2018 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119217619.ch7 AboutPDFPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShareShare a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Summary Technically, cellulose ethers are obtained after swelling and activation of cellulose with strong aqueous sodium hydroxide. This chapter will focus on the analysis of the important cellulose methyl ethers (MC) and its combination with hydroxyethyl and hydroxypropyl functionalization. MC is the simplest cellulose ether and presents the basis for the mixed hydroxyethylmethyl cellulose (HEMC) or hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC) used in the building sector, in food and in pharma applications. Analysis of substituent distribution in MC is based on the quantitative and representative determination of profiles of constituents and oligomeric sequences. To overcome discrimination in mass spectrometry due to the wide range in chemistry and mass, a charged tag is introduced by reductive amination after partial hydrolysis. The most abundant and also very important cellulose ether is carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). Due to the anionic character, the CMC cannot be handled in the same way as the neutral alkyl and hydroxyalkyl ethers of cellulose. Cellulose Science and Technology: Chemistry, Analysis, and Applications RelatedInformation