Dispersing carbomers, mixing technology matters!

Mixing dry carbomer powder with water using magneto-hydrodynamic mixing yielded carbomer dispersions with higher viscosity and increased storage modulus as compared to conventional high shear mixing. ¹H NMR spectroscopy demonstrated this to be induced by a different water distribution, accompanied by lower ionization and higher degradation of the polymer in case of high shear mixing. This investigation reveals ¹H MAS NMR to provide suitable sensitivity and resolution to detect structural changes induced in organic polymers during their hydration.