Hydroxyethyl cellulose is a gelling and thickening agent derived from cellulose and is widely used in cosmetics, cleaning solutions and other household products. It is used with hydrophobic drugs in capsule formulations, to improve the drugs dissolution in the gastrointestinal fluids. This process is known as hydrophilization. Hydroxyethylcellulose is used as a gelling and thickening agent in the development of biostructures for the delivery of hydrophobic drugs. Hydroxyethylcellulose is used in the development of polymer networks and block copolymers useful in separation technology such as capillary electrophoresis and in biofilms and coatings. It is also used for encapsulation of cells in chitosan/glycerophosphate/hydroxyethyl cellulose (chitosan-GP/HEC) gels.
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