What role does cellulose play in toothpaste and what performance can it improve? ​

celluloseNatural cellulose derivatives, such as sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), are commonly used in toothpaste. They are important functional additives in toothpaste and play a key regulatory role in the basic form and performance of toothpaste through their thickening, stability, and film-forming properties. The specific details are as follows:

1、 Core function: Building the basic form of toothpaste

Thickening and shaping:

Cellulose molecular chains can form a three-dimensional network structure through hydrogen bonding in water, which can significantly increase the viscosity of toothpaste paste (usually maintaining the viscosity at 50000-100000 mPa · s), evenly wrap friction agents (such as calcium carbonate, silicon dioxide), moisturizers (such as glycerol), surfactants and other components, form a stable paste form, and prevent toothpaste from flowing due to excessive thinness (such as collapsing after extrusion from a hose) or clumping due to excessive dryness.

Suspension and dispersion:

The molecular chains of cellulose can adsorb on the surface of solid particles (such as friction agents and traditional Chinese medicine extracts), forming a protective layer to prevent particle settling or aggregation, ensuring that toothpaste is always uniform and delicate during storage (such as avoiding friction agents from sinking to the bottom of the hose or traditional Chinese medicine from forming precipitates).

2、 Improved usability

1. Extrusion performance: Smooth and easy to obtain, stable in shape

The "pseudoplasticity" property of cellulose (viscosity decreases under shear force and recovers after standing) makes toothpaste easier to extrude from the tube mouth during compression (under hose pressure), and can maintain a strip like shape after extrusion (without collapse or deformation), making it convenient for users to control the dosage. For example:

Toothpaste that does not contain cellulose or has insufficient usage may not form strips due to insufficient viscosity, resulting in a thin paste after extrusion;

Toothpaste formulated with high-quality cellulose can maintain moderate softness even in low temperature environments (such as winter), avoiding difficulty in extrusion due to hardness.

2. Taste experience: delicate and smooth

celluloseAfter coming into contact with saliva in the mouth, a thin lubricating film will form, reducing the friction between toothpaste and teeth and gums, making the brushing process smoother, especially suitable for sensitive gums or children.

Its molecular chain can wrap around some rough friction agent particles, masking the graininess and making the toothpaste taste more delicate (avoiding the "sand like sensation").

3. foam and cleaning aid: delicate and durable, easy to rinse

Although cellulose itself does not produce foam, it can cooperate with the surfactant in toothpaste (such as sodium dodecyl sulfate) to make foam more delicate, more evenly distributed, extend the retention time of foam in the mouth, and enhance the cleaning effect.

After brushing teeth, cellulose is easily washed away by water, reducing the residual feeling in the mouth (avoiding a "sticky feeling").

4. Stability: anti settling, anti water separation, and extended shelf life

Anti settling: For toothpaste containing large particle components such as frosted particles and herbal particles, cellulose can "lock" the particles through a mesh structure to prevent them from sinking during storage (especially for vertical hose packaging, to avoid particle accumulation at the bottom).

Anti water separation: During high temperature or long-term storage, cellulose can reduce the precipitation of water in toothpaste (i.e. "water out" phenomenon), avoid the appearance of liquid water layer on the surface of the paste, and maintain the uniformity and stability of the paste (especially important during summer transportation or use in tropical regions).

Compatibility: It has good compatibility with active substances such as fluoride (such as sodium fluoride) and whitening ingredients (such as hydrogen peroxide) in toothpaste, and will not cause the paste to become thinner, thicker, or ineffective due to chemical reactions.

5. Functional extension: assisting active ingredients to exert their effects

For toothpaste containing medicinal ingredients such as anti sensitive potassium nitrate and anti caries fluoride, the cellulose mesh structure can serve as a "slow-release carrier", delaying the release rate of active ingredients, prolonging their contact time with teeth and gums, and enhancing efficacy (such as the sustained anti caries effect of fluoride ions).

In transparent toothpaste or gel toothpaste, low viscosity cellulose can be used as a thickening stabilizer to maintain a transparent appearance (to avoid turbidity due to particle aggregation).

summary

celluloseIn toothpaste, it is the "form shaper," "stability guarantor," and "experience optimizer." Through core functions such as thickening and shaping, suspension stability, and improving taste, it not only ensures the basic form stability of toothpaste (easy to extrude, no layering), but also enhances the user experience (smooth, delicate, easy to rinse), while providing support for the effective use of active ingredients. Different types of cellulose (such as CMC, HEC) should be adjusted according to the toothpaste dosage form (ordinary paste, transparent gel, pharmaceutical) (usually 0.5% -2%) to balance the performance.