Characterization of ethyl cellulose polymer

Abstract

Ethyl cellulose (EC) polymer was characterized for its property before considering the interactions with the plasicizer. Ethocel Std.10 FP Premium from Dow chemical company USA was tested for its solubility, morphology and thermal properties. Seven percentage of EC solution in ethanol was found to be the right viscosity used to prepare the film. The EC polymer and EC film without any plasticizers showed almost identical thermal behavior, but in X-ray diffraction showed different arrangements of crystallites and amorphous region. Dynamic mechanical analysis of film showed that without a plasticizer, EC film was not flexible and had very low elongation with high applied force. The aim of the work was to avoid using the commercially available EC dispersions Surelease® and Aquacoat®; both already have additives on it. Instead, Ethocel EC polymer (powder) was characterized in our laboratory in order to find out the properties of polymer before considering the interactions of the polymer with various plasticizers.

Keywords::

• Ethyl cellulose polymer
• thermal properties
• crystallinity
• viscosity
• solubility

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc, Pomona NY, for the opportunity given to work in the pre-formulation laboratory. A special thanks to R&D formulation groups in Barr for their kind cooperation.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.