Methyl cellulose

Methyl cellulose is a nonionic cellulose ether with unique thermogelling properties and no toxicity^[1]. Methyl cellulose is a synthetic, water-soluble polymer composed of many linked glucose molecules used as a stabilizer, thickener and emulsifier in food and cosmetics^[2]. Methyl cellulose can be used to prepare semisolid matrices as cell culture gels for culturing colony-forming cells^{[3, 4]}. Methyl cellulose can be used as a glycerol substitute in cryopreservation media and together with culture supplements to enhance the proliferation and differentiation of multilineage or monolineage committed hematopoietic progenitor cells^[5]. It is difficult to prepare a solution of Methyl cellulose in cold water; when the powder comes into contact with water, it forms a gel layer around it, which helps to accelerate dissolution under heated stirring conditions^[6].

References:
[1] Coughlin M K L, Liberman L, Ertem S P, et al. Methyl cellulose solutions and gels: Fibril formation and gelation properties[J]. Progress in Polymer Science, 2021, 112: 101324.
[2] Rahman M S, Hasan M S, Nitai A S, et al. Recent developments of carboxymethyl cellulose[J]. Polymers, 2021, 13(8): 1345.
[3] Fusté N P, Guasch M, Guillen P, et al. Barley β-glucan accelerates wound healing by favoring migration versus proliferation of human dermal fibroblasts[J]. Carbohydrate Polymers, 2019, 210: 389-398.
[4] Boudet J F, Mathelié-Guinlet M, Vilquin A, et al. Large variability in the motility of spiroplasmas in media of different viscosities[J]. Scientific Reports, 2018, 8(1): 17138.
[5] Miller C L, Lai B. Human and mouse hematopoietic colony-forming cell assays[J]. Basic Cell Culture Protocols, 2005: 71-89.
[6] Nasatto P L, Pignon F, Silveira J L M, et al. Methylcellulose, a cellulose derivative with original physical properties and extended applications[J]. Polymers, 2015, 7(5): 777-803.

Methyl cellulose是一种非离子纤维素醚，具有独特的热胶凝性质，没有毒性^[1]。Methyl cellulose是一种合成的水溶性聚合物，由许多连接的葡萄糖分子组成，用作食品和化妆品的稳定剂、增稠剂和乳化剂^[2]。Methyl cellulose能够用于制备半固体基质，作为细胞培养凝胶，用于培养集落形成细胞^{[3, 4]}。Methyl cellulose能够在冻存培养基中用作甘油的替代品，与培养补充剂一起使用，以增强多系或单系定型造血祖细胞的增殖和分化^[5]。用冷水制备Methyl cellulose溶液是很困难的，当粉末与水接触时，它会在其周围形成凝胶层，在加热搅拌条件下有助于加速溶解^[6]。