In the biomedical field, the core application of Tricine is concentrated in cell culture and diagnostic reagent development. As a key component of cell culture medium, its buffering capacity can maintain the pH stability of the culture medium for up to several days. For example, in the three-dimensional culture model of adherent cells, Tricine can effectively neutralize the lactic acid produced by cell metabolism and avoid cell apoptosis caused by acidification of the culture environment. In addition, in protein electrophoresis technology, the Tricine-SDS-PAGE system has become the preferred method for membrane protein and short peptide analysis due to its high-resolution separation ability for small molecule peptides (<10 kDa).

In the detergent industry, its derivative trisodium methylglycine diacetate (MGDA) can be used as an environmentally friendly chelating agent to replace traditional phosphorus-containing compounds, effectively soften water quality and improve decontamination efficiency. MGDA’s high affinity with calcium and magnesium ions enables it to maintain washing performance in hard water environments, while its biodegradability is in line with the development trend of green chemistry. In semiconductor manufacturing, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) solution containing Tricine and amino acids can precisely control the etching rate of copper surface, reduce micro scratches and pit defects on the wafer surface, and thus improve chip yield.

Research in the field of food and nutrition has revealed the potential of Tricine in metabolic regulation. As a methyl donor precursor, it may affect homocysteine ​​metabolism through the methionine cycle, a pathway closely related to the risk of cardiovascular disease. Animal experiments have shown that supplementation with Tricine can improve insulin sensitivity and promote liver glycogen storage, which provides a new idea for adjuvant treatment of diabetes. In addition, its antioxidant properties are valuable in the development of functional foods, such as as a natural preservative to extend shelf life, or as a nutritional enhancer to slow down the aging process associated with oxidative stress.

In terms of environmental governance, the chelating ability of Tricine is used for heavy metal pollution remediation. Its repair agent compounded with layered iron hydroxide can enhance the dehalogenation efficiency of halogenated hydrocarbon pollutants by stabilizing carbene intermediates, while reducing the generation of toxic byproducts. This technology has a significant degradation effect on organochlorine pollutants (such as pesticide residues) in soil and groundwater, and its environmental compatibility is better than traditional acid washing methods.

The core competitiveness of Tricine is first reflected in its excellent chemical stability. Compared with traditional buffers, it can still maintain structural integrity under high temperature (100°C) and strong alkalinity (pH 13.5) conditions, which is crucial in industrial sterilization processes and extreme reaction environments.

Biosafety is another significant advantage. Toxicological studies have confirmed that Tricine has no teratogenic or mutagenic effects on mammalian cells at the recommended concentration, and its LD50 value (oral in rats) is higher than 5000 mg/kg, which is a practically non-toxic substance. This safety allows it to be directly used in injection-grade drug formulations. For example, when Tricine is added as a stabilizer in rabies vaccines, the safety standards of biological products can be met without additional removal steps. In addition, its metabolites are mainly glycine and carbon dioxide, which will not accumulate in the body to produce toxicity.

Tricine and its derivative MGDA can be completely degraded by microbial action in nature, with a biodegradation rate of more than 90% within 28 days, which is much better than traditional chelating agents such as EDTA. This property enables it to gradually replace non-degradable phosphorus-containing compounds in the field of detergents and industrial cleaning agents, in line with the requirements of the EU REACH regulations and the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry. In the agricultural field, foliar fertilizers containing Tricine can improve the resistance of crops to heavy metal stress while avoiding secondary soil pollution.

In terms of cost-effectiveness, the production process of Tricine has been scaled up. Through the hydroxymethylation reaction of glycine and formaldehyde, combined with continuous flow crystallization technology, the raw material conversion rate can reach more than 95%, and the purity reaches 99.5% of the pharmaceutical grade standard.

Multifunctional integration further expands the application boundaries. A single Tricine molecule has buffering, antioxidant, osmotic protection and methyl donor functions. This multi-effect reduces the number of additives in the formula. In the development of cell cryopreservation fluid, Tricine can simultaneously achieve pH stability, ice crystal inhibition and cell membrane protection, replacing the combination of polyols, dextran and bovine serum albumin in traditional formulas. In the field of cosmetics, its combination of moisturizing and antibacterial properties makes it a basic ingredient for preservative-free formulas, meeting consumers’ demand for “clean beauty”.