Carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt-viscosity 1-1.3kcP CAS 9004-32-4

The functional properties of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) depend on the degree of substitution of the cellulose, the chain length of the cellulose backbone structure and the degree of clustering of the carboxymethyl substituents.

CMC is used in food under the E number E466 as a viscosity modifier or thickener, and to stabilise emulsions in various products including ice cream. It is also a constituent of many non-food products, such as toothpaste, laxatives, diet pills, water-based paints, detergents, textile sizing, and various paper products. Carboxymethyl cellulose is used extensively in gluten free and reduced fat food products. 

In laundry detergents, it is used as a soil suspension polymer designed to deposit onto cotton and other cellulosic fabrics, creating a negatively charged barrier to soils in the wash solution.

CMC is also used in pharmaceuticals as a thickening agent, for example as the lubricant in lubricating eye drops, and in the oil-drilling industry as an ingredient of drilling mud, where it acts as a viscosity modifier and water retention agent.