Manganese chloride is used as a source of manganese ion in biological research, such as in studies of manganese uptake in rat liver and of inhibition of Mycoplasma strain growth. The alteration in gene expression of glutamate/aspartate transporter, taurine transporter, and metallothionein I in astrocytes that have been exposed to MnCl2 has been studied. Manganese chloride has been substituted for magnesium chloride to investigate alterations in activity of the Herpes simplex virus type 1 DNA polymerase. It is used in industrial applications such as dyeing and disinfecting, the purification of natural gas, and as a drying agent for linseed oil.