Chemical awards for the personal care industry
entrepreneurial material company of the year by market researchers
Frost & Sullivan. The UK-based company was credited with
developing Optisol earlier this year, an ultra violet (UV)
absorbing technology claimed to eliminate free radicals by as much
as 95 per cent.
Launched at In Cosmetics in Paris last April the product is a new concept in UV protection and anti-ageing. The technology, developed in association with the University of Oxford, works by absorbing damaging ultra violet radiation without the concurrent formation of free radicals. These are highly reactive chemical species, which are implicated in skin ageing and cell damage.
Most UV absorbers used in sunscreens form free radicals following absorption of UV radiation, and antioxidants are currently added to try and neutralise those formed in the product. Optisol is believed to eliminate this problem by not forming free radicals at all.
Oxonica's patented process modifies the structure of the titanium dioxide or zinc oxide to createOptisol. This product, instead of generating a free radical every time a UV photon is absorbed, reemits energy as a lower energy photon, which is in the harmless green part of the spectrum.As a result, sunscreen products made using Optisol are claimed to offer improved UV protection,thereby reducing cell damage, skin ageing and breakdown of the other components of the sunscreen.
Frost & Sullivan also presented Noveon with the speciality chemicals of the year award for its Carbopol brand. The rheology modifier polymer helps to thicken formulations, suspend particles and stabilise systems. Used at concentrations lower than 1 per cent, the product is claimed to offer the flexibility to develop personal care products with a wide range of flow and rheological properties.
In December 2000, Noveon launched Carbopol in liquid form, making it easier to use. It is also available in its original powder format.
"Carbopol has existed since 1952. 50 years later this product is still achieving double digit growth, and solving formulators' needs in the industry in a very successful way," said Eduardo de Purgly, business manager for Noveon.
