Cellulose is the main component of plant cell walls. It is the most widely distributed and abundant polysaccharide in nature, accounting for more than 50% of the carbon content in the plant kingdom. Cellulose ether is a general term for a series of cellulose derivatives generated by natural cellulose as raw material, through a series of chemical and physical processes such as alkalization, etherification reaction, and post-treatment under certain conditions. It is a product formed after the hydroxyl groups on the cellulose molecular chain are partially or completely replaced by ether groups. Cellulose ethers are widely used in building materials, medicine, food, daily chemicals, textiles, mining, aerospace and other fields, among which pharmaceutical-grade cellulose ethers are one of the products with the highest technical barriers to cellulose ethers.
The "2023-2027 China Pharmaceutical-Grade Cellulose Ether Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report" compiled and released by the Xinshijie Industry Research Center shows that pharmaceutical-grade cellulose ethers are mainly used as pharmaceutical excipients to produce pharmaceutical tablet coatings, suspending agents, plant capsules, sustained-release preparations and other fields. Pharmaceutical excipients are used in a high proportion in pharmaceutical production, which has a great impact on the quality, safety and effectiveness of pharmaceutical preparations. With the increase in the income level of domestic residents and the intensification of aging in recent years, the scale of China's pharmaceutical market has continued to grow, and the demand for pharmaceutical excipients has also continued to grow. As a pharmaceutical excipient product for oils and fats, the market demand for pharmaceutical-grade cellulose ethers has also been driven, and the market scale continues to grow.
Plant hollow capsules are one of the main products of pharmaceutical-grade cellulose ethers in the pharmaceutical field. They have the advantages of being green, natural, and highly safe. They mainly use hydroxypropyl methylcellulose as the main raw material. Pharmaceutical-grade cellulose ethers are one of the key raw materials for sustained-release control agents. By making skeleton materials, they can achieve the effect of slow and continuous release of drugs and prolong the efficacy time. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and ethyl cellulose are commonly used raw materials for the production of cellulose ethers for sustained-release control agents. The technology of cellulose ethers for sustained-release control agents is difficult and the product has high added value. The core technology has long been mainly in the hands of a few international companies.