METOLOSE is a nonionic water-soluble cellulose ether which is prepared from cellulose (pulp), a widely distributed natural material. The cellulose is treated with a caustic soda aqueous solution to produce an alkali cellulose which in turn is treated with etherification agents such as methyl chloride, propylene oxide or ethylene oxide yielding METOLOSE . Although the cellulose contains many hydrophilic hydroxyl groups, it will not dissolve in water. This is because hydroxyl groups are creating strong intermolecular hydrogen bondings, thus forming crystal structures preventing water from flowing into the interval between cellulose molecules.
During the etherfication stage, some hydrogen atoms of the hydroxyl groups of cellulose are replaced by substituents such as methyl groups (-CH3), hydroxypropyl groups (-CH2CHOHCH3), or hydroxyethyl groups (-CH2CH2OH), and these substituents cancel the intermolecular hydrogen bondings to make METOLOSE water-soluble.