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，迫切需要创造一种高效的“不含PEG”的增稠剂。该增稠剂的拟议结构是一种两亲性共聚物，采用强大的聚合技术（称为原子转移自由基聚合（ATRP））合成。该项目将合成一个系统的共聚物库，其分子结构、所用亲水和疏水基团的类型以及分子量都有所变化。每个分子的增稠特性将在水溶液（例如洗发水基质）中测定。预计性能最好的共聚物将在浓度低于 1%（重量）时有效地增稠化妆品配方。从合成的聚合物库中获得的信息将决定应优化哪种共聚物以进行放大和商业化。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，有报道称这些材料含有制造过程后留下的有毒副产物，如 1,4-二恶烷等。美国食品和药物管理局将 PEG 视为潜在污染物来源，并自 20 世纪 70 年代末以来一直监测个人护理产品中 1,4-二恶烷的含量。尽管目前市场上的产品含有极少量的 1,4-二恶烷，但消费者意识的提高促使一些公司考虑“不含 PEG”的替代品，特别是在更敏感的应用中。除了个人护理和化妆品之外，PEG 还用于市场上的所有聚合物药物递送系统。对于此类应用，即使是少量的有毒化合物也是不可接受的。这项拟议研究中使用的开发 PEG 替代品的技术具有巨大的潜力，也可用于开发新型药物输送系统。因此，该研究项目产生的产品预计将引起多个工业领域的广泛关注。