SBIR Phase I: Amphiphilic Copolymers as Thickening Agents for Personal Care Products

SBIR 第一阶段：作为个人护理产品增稠剂的两亲性共聚物

• 批准号: 1248253
• 负责人: Liang Huang
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: ATRP Solutions, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-01-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1248253&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Amphiphilic; Copolymers; Thickening

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is directed towards the development of a non-ionic thickening agent for personal care products, which does not contain poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). Reports have stated that commercially available PEG contains small levels of undesirable side products. Therefore, there is a strong need to create an efficient, "PEG-free" thickening agent. The proposed structure of the thickening agent is an amphiphilic copolymer, synthesized using a powerful polymerization technique known as atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). A systematic library of copolymers will be synthesized during this project, with variations in the architecture of the molecule, the type of hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups used, and the molecular weight. The thickening properties of each molecule will be determined in an aqueous solution, such as a shampoo base. It is expected that the best performing copolymers will efficiently thicken cosmetic formulations at concentrations of less than 1% by weight. The information obtained from the synthesized polymeric library will determine which copolymer should be optimized for scale-up and commercialization. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is the need to replace PEG-based personal care additives, driven by reports that these materials contain toxic side products left after the manufacturing process, such as 1,4-dioxane, among others. The United States Food and Drug Administration recognizes PEG as a source of potential contaminants, and has monitored levels of 1,4-dioxane in personal care products since the late 1970s. Although current products on the market have minimal amounts of 1,4-dioxane, heightened consumer awareness is causing several companies to consider "PEG-free" alternatives, especially in more sensitive applications. Besides personal care and cosmetic products, PEG is also used in all polymeric drug delivery systems that are on the market. For this type of application, even small amounts of toxic compounds are unacceptable. The technology used in this proposed research to develop a PEG replacement has great potential to also be used in the development of novel drug delivery systems. Therefore, the product generated from this research project is expected to attract considerable attention from several areas of industry.

该小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在开发用于个人护理产品的非离子增稠剂，该增稠剂不含聚乙二醇（PEG）。报告指出，市售PEG含有少量不需要的副产物。因此，强烈需要创造一种有效的、“不含PEG”的增稠剂。增稠剂的拟议结构是一种两亲性共聚物，使用称为原子转移自由基聚合（ATRP）的强大聚合技术合成。在这个项目中，将合成一个系统的共聚物库，其中包括分子结构、所用亲水和疏水基团的类型以及分子量的变化。每种分子的增稠性质将在水溶液如洗发剂基质中测定。预期性能最好的共聚物将在小于1重量%的浓度下有效地分散化妆品制剂。从合成的聚合物库中获得的信息将决定哪种共聚物应该被优化用于放大和商业化。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是需要取代基于PEG的个人护理添加剂，因为有报道称这些材料含有制造过程后留下的有毒副产品，如1，4-二氧六环等。美国食品和药物管理局认为PEG是潜在污染物的来源，自20世纪70年代末以来一直在监测个人护理产品中的1，4-二氧六环水平。虽然目前市场上的产品含有最少量的1，4-二氧六环，但消费者意识的提高促使一些公司考虑使用“无PEG”替代品，特别是在更敏感的应用中。除了个人护理和化妆品，PEG还用于市场上的所有聚合物药物递送系统。对于这种类型的应用，即使是少量的有毒化合物也是不可接受的。在这项拟议的研究中用于开发PEG替代物的技术具有很大的潜力，也可用于开发新型药物递送系统。因此，该研究项目产生的产品预计将吸引多个行业领域的关注。