sym2cell

Convert a matrix of symbolic variables and numbers to a cell array.

Create the following symbolic matrix.

syms x y
S =  [x 2 3 4; y 6 7 8; 9 10 11 12]

S = 
$$\left(\begin{array}{cccc}x& 2& 3& 4\\ y& 6& 7& 8\\ 9& 10& 11& 12\end{array}\right)$$

Convert this matrix to a cell array by using sym2cell. The size of the resulting cell array corresponds to the size of the input matrix. Each cell contains an element of the symbolic matrix S.

C = sym2cell(S)

C=3×4 cell array
    {[x]}    {[2 ]}    {[3 ]}    {[4 ]}
    {[y]}    {[6 ]}    {[7 ]}    {[8 ]}
    {[9]}    {[10]}    {[11]}    {[12]}

To access an element in each cell, use curly braces.

[C{1,1:4}]

ans = $$\left(\begin{array}{cccc}x& 2& 3& 4\end{array}\right)$$

[C{1:3,1}]

ans = $$\left(\begin{array}{ccc}x& y& 9\end{array}\right)$$