HPMC solubility in cold water

HPMC solubility in cold water

HPMC solubility in water has two types: surface-treated HPMC and non-surfaced treated HPMC.

hpmc-solubility-in-water
3.1 surface treated HPMC solubility in cold water
When adding surface-treated HPMC into the water, HPMC will disperse into the cold water. But don’t have any viscosity. It is just dispersed. stir it and wait around 2 minutes, the solution becomes thick and viscous.
This is because instant HPMC’s surface has a kind of crosslinking agent. Most HPMC manufacturers like using Glyoxal as a crosslinking agent. This agent helps HPMC to disperse in cold water rather than dissolve at the beginning. So the price of surface treated HPMC is high than nor surface-treated HPMC.

3.2 Non-surface treated HPMC solubility in cold water
Hot melt products may condense when in contact with cold water. This is because the outer layer of non-surfaced treated HPMC reacted with cold water. This reaction makes the solution becomes viscous and thicken. The HPMC powder is wrapped in this transparent gel. Only the outer layer is dissolved. The dissolution rate of HPMC inside will be greatly slowed down.
Generally, it will be dissolved by dissolving in hot water.