Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (659 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
A colorless, odorless, viscous dihydroxy alcohol. It has a sweet taste, but is poisonous if ingested. Ethylene glycol is the most important glycol commercially available and is manufactured on a large scale in the United States. It is used as an antifreeze and coolant, in hydraulic fluids, and in the manufacture of low-freezing dynamites and resins.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Glycol, Ethylene; 2-Hydroxyethanol; 2 Hydroxyethanol; Monoethylene Glycol; Glycol, Monoethylene; 1,2-Ethanediol; 1,2 Ethanediol.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Ethylene Glycols
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 3,142 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Ethylene Glycol” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 498 of them (15.8%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 1,068 records.
Reviews account for 139 records (4.4%) and meta-analyses for 2. Randomized controlled trials number 11 (0.4%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 713 |
| 2000-2009 | 863 |
| 2010-2019 | 1,068 |
| 2020 onward | 498 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 139 | 4.4% |
| Meta-analyses | 2 | 0.1% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 11 | 0.4% |
Method: PubMed query "Ethylene Glycol"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in drugs and chemicals
Studies of a chemical or drug can answer very different questions: what it is and how it behaves in cells and animals, how the body handles it, and whether it changes outcomes in people. Laboratory and animal findings often do not carry over to patients, and observational studies of exposures are confounded by who uses a substance and why. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to use, avoid, start or stop any substance or medicine; talk to a qualified clinician or pharmacist about your own situation. Check the dose, the species, the comparison group and whether a patient-relevant outcome was measured.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
Warm/cool-tone switchable thermochromic material for smart windows by orthogonally integrating properties of pillar[6]arene and ferrocene [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Functional materials play a vital role in the fabrication of smart windows, which can provide a more comfortable indoor environment for humans to enjoy a better lifestyle.
- Closing excerpt
- Consequently, the obtained bifunctional material for fabricating smart windows can not only regulate the input of solar energy but also can provide a more comfortable color tone to improve the feelings and emotions of people in indoor environments.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (150 words)
Functional materials play a vital role in the fabrication of smart windows, which can provide a more comfortable indoor environment for humans to enjoy a better lifestyle. Traditional materials for smart windows tend to possess only a single functionality with the purpose of regulating the input of solar energy. However, different color tones also have great influences on human emotions. Herein, a strategy for orthogonal integration of different properties is proposed, namely the thermo-responsiveness of ethylene glycol-modified pillar[6]arene (EGP6) and the redox-induced reversible color switching of ferrocene/ferrocenium groups are orthogonally integrated into one system. This gives rise to a material with cooperative and non-interfering dual functions, featuring both thermochromism and warm/cool tone-switchability. Consequently, the obtained bifunctional material for fabricating smart windows can not only regulate the input of solar energy but also can provide a more comfortable color tone to improve the feelings and emotions of people in indoor environments.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 29712901 · DOI · PMC5928112
Biotechnological production of glycolic acid and ethylene glycol: current state and perspectives [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Glycolic acid (GA) and ethylene glycol (EG) are versatile two-carbon organic chemicals used in multiple daily applications.
- Closing excerpt
- Here, we describe the recent advancement in metabolic engineering efforts focusing on metabolic pathways and engineering strategies used for GA and EG production.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (100 words)
Glycolic acid (GA) and ethylene glycol (EG) are versatile two-carbon organic chemicals used in multiple daily applications. GA and EG are currently produced by chemical synthesis, but their biotechnological production from renewable resources has received a substantial interest. Several different metabolic pathways by using genetically modified microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli, Corynebacterium glutamicum and yeast have been established for their production. As a result, the yield of GA and EG produced from sugars has been significantly improved. Here, we describe the recent advancement in metabolic engineering efforts focusing on metabolic pathways and engineering strategies used for GA and EG production.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 30707252 · DOI · PMC6443609
A novel synthetic approach of cerium oxide nanoparticles with improved biomedical activity [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CNPs) are novel synthetic antioxidant agents proposed for treating oxidative stress-related diseases.
- Closing excerpt
- In-situ silanization improved CNP colloidal stability, in comparison with non-functionalized particles, and allowed at the same time improving their original biological activity, yielding thus functionalized CNPs suitable for biomedical applications.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (165 words)
Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CNPs) are novel synthetic antioxidant agents proposed for treating oxidative stress-related diseases. The synthesis of high-quality CNPs for biomedical applications remains a challenging task. A major concern for a safe use of CNPs as pharmacological agents is their tendency to agglomerate. Herein we present a simple direct precipitation approach, exploiting ethylene glycol as synthesis co-factor, to synthesize at room temperature nanocrystalline sub-10 nm CNPs, followed by a surface silanization approach to improve nanoparticle dispersibility in biological fluids. CNPs were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and zeta potential measurements. CNP redox activity was studied in abiotic systems using electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements, and in vitro on human cell models. In-situ silanization improved CNP colloidal stability, in comparison with non-functionalized particles, and allowed at the same time improving their original biological activity, yielding thus functionalized CNPs suitable for biomedical applications.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 28680107 · DOI · PMC5498533
LysR-type transcriptional regulator TtdR regulates both ethylene glycol and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) metabolism in Pseudomonas umsongensis GO16 [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- In Pseudomonas umsongensis GO16, a LysR-type transcriptional regulator (LTTRs) ttdR is located 5' of the gene for glyoxylate carboligase (gcl), involved in ethylene glycol (EG) metabolism.
- Closing excerpt
- The evolved strains regained the ability to grow with these fatty acids as the WT, but the mutations accumulated did not confer growth with EG or acetate, suggesting that a mechanism different to glyoxylate shunt has evolved to allow growth with fatty acids.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (244 words)
In Pseudomonas umsongensis GO16, a LysR-type transcriptional regulator (LTTRs) ttdR is located 5' of the gene for glyoxylate carboligase (gcl), involved in ethylene glycol (EG) metabolism. GO16 wildtype (WT) can utilize EG as a sole carbon and energy source but the ttdR knockout strain (ΔttdR) cannot grow on EG, demonstrating its role as an activator in EG metabolism. When ΔttdR was grown with terephthalic acid (TA) or glucose, the growth was comparable to the WT. GO16 originally produces both C4 short-chain-length (scl) PHA and C6-C12 medium-chain-length (mcl) PHA from various carbon sources. Interestingly, ΔttdR produced scl-PHA monomer 5.4-fold and 1.4-fold increased than the WT when TA and glucose were used respectively. Furthermore, ΔttdR exhibited a very long lag phase when grown with fatty acids, namely butyrate or octanoate. This indicates a more complex role of TtdR than simply activating EG metabolism in GO16. The analysis of the GO16 ΔttdR proteome revealed that EG catabolic genes were expressed, but their abundance was 2.8- to 10.5-fold lower (log2) compared to the WT. In addition, higher abundance of enzymes that could be contributing to higher scl-PHA content was also observed. GO16 ΔttdR was further subjected to adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) with butyrate and octanoate. The evolved strains regained the ability to grow with these fatty acids as the WT, but the mutations accumulated did not confer growth with EG or acetate, suggesting that a mechanism different to glyoxylate shunt has evolved to allow growth with fatty acids.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42154087 · DOI · PMC13357446
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article American Academy of Clinical Toxicology Practice Guidelines on the Treatment of Ethylene Glycol Poisoning. Ad Hoc Committee [5]
- Research article Fomepizole for ethylene glycol and methanol poisoning [6]
- Research article Current recommendations for treatment of severe toxic alcohol poisonings [7]
- Research article One-pot conversion of cellulose to ethylene glycol with multifunctional tungsten-based catalysts [8]
- Research article Current management of ethylene glycol poisoning [9]
- Research article Antidotes for poisoning by alcohols that form toxic metabolites [10]
References
- Wang S, Xu Z, Wang T, Xiao T, Hu XY, Shen YZ, et al.. Warm/cool-tone switchable thermochromic material for smart windows by orthogonally integrating properties of pillar[6]arene and ferrocene. . 2018. PMID 29712901 · DOI · PMC5928112
- Salusjärvi L, Havukainen S, Koivistoinen O, Toivari M. Biotechnological production of glycolic acid and ethylene glycol: current state and perspectives. . 2019. PMID 30707252 · DOI · PMC6443609
- Caputo F, Mameli M, Sienkiewicz A, Licoccia S, Stellacci F, Ghibelli L, et al.. A novel synthetic approach of cerium oxide nanoparticles with improved biomedical activity. . 2017. PMID 28680107 · DOI · PMC5498533
- Um J, Balusamy K, Wierckx N, O'Connor KE, Narancic T. LysR-type transcriptional regulator TtdR regulates both ethylene glycol and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) metabolism in Pseudomonas umsongensis GO16. . 2026. PMID 42154087 · DOI · PMC13357446
- Barceloux DG, Krenzelok EP, Olson K, Watson W. American Academy of Clinical Toxicology Practice Guidelines on the Treatment of Ethylene Glycol Poisoning. Ad Hoc Committee. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1999. PMID 10497633 · DOI
- Brent J. Fomepizole for ethylene glycol and methanol poisoning. N Engl J Med. 2009. PMID 19458366 · DOI
- Mégarbane B, Borron SW, Baud FJ. Current recommendations for treatment of severe toxic alcohol poisonings. Intensive Care Med. 2005. PMID 15627163 · DOI
- Wang A, Zhang T. One-pot conversion of cellulose to ethylene glycol with multifunctional tungsten-based catalysts. Acc Chem Res. 2013. PMID 23421609 · DOI
- Brent J. Current management of ethylene glycol poisoning. Drugs. 2001. PMID 11434452 · DOI
- McMartin K, Jacobsen D, Hovda KE. Antidotes for poisoning by alcohols that form toxic metabolites. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2016. PMID 26551875 · DOI · PMC4767193
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.