Dow Excipients

Chemistry of POLYOX Water-Soluble Resins NF

POLYOX™ Water-Soluble Resins, NF Grade are nonionic poly (ethylene oxide) polymers that meet all the specifications of the United States Pharmacopoeia-National Formulary. They are supplied in a wide variety of molecular weight grades, ranging from one hundred thousand to seven million daltons or amu.

POLYOX Water-Soluble Resins are produced and supplied as white, free-flowing, hydrophilic granular powders, freely soluble in water and possessing a slightly ammoniacal odor. Typical properties are given in Table 1.

Typical Physical Properties of POLYOX Water-Soluble Resins NF
Appearance Off-white powder
Crystalline Melting Point(1) (X-ray and DSC), °C E 62–67
Odor Slightly ammoniacal
Melt Flow Temperature, °C >98
Volatiles Content, as packaged, % by wt (at 105 °C) >1.0
Alkaline Earth Metals, % by wt as CaO, max 1.0
Powder Bulk Density, lb/ft3 (kg/m3) 19-37 (304-593)
Polymer Density, g/cc 1.15–1.26
Moisture Content, as packaged, % <1
Heat of Fusion, cal/gm 3
Solution pH 8–10
Particle Size, % by wt
  Average through 10-mesh (U.S. Standard)
  20-mesh
100
96

The physical property data listed are considered to be typical properties, not specifications.

(1) At temperatures above the crystalline melting point, high polymers of POLYOX Water-Soluble Resins still retain a very high degree of crystalline character.

Table 2 shows the current product range suitable for pharmaceuticals and their corresponding molecular weights and properties.

POLYOX Water-Soluble Resins NF for Pharmaceutical Applications
POLYOX Water-Soluble Resin NF Product Approximate Molecular Weight Viscosity Range at 25°C, cP
5% Solution 2% Solution 1% Solution
WSR N-10 100,000 30–50
WSR N-80 200,000 55–90
WSR N-750 300,000 600–1,200
WSR-205 600,000 4,500–8,800
WSR-1105 900,000 8,800–17,600
WSR N-12K 1,00,000 400–800
WSR N-60K 2,000,000 2,000–4,000
WSR-301 4,000,000 1,650–5,500
WSR Coagulant 5,000,000 5,500–7,500
WSR-303 7,000,000 7,500–10,000


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