RETHINKING THE NATURE OF COSMETICS WITH GLYCOLIPIDS BY EVONIK

Even though natural, sustainable products are in high demand among cosmetics users, no one wants to sacrifice product efficacy. Once in a while, however, manufacturers pull off what seems like squaring a circle—and RHEANCE® One is one example of that. The Personal Care Business Line at Evonik has glycolipid products that opened up new dimensions in gentle yet effective skin and hair cleansing.

While the glycolipid used is produced in nature by a bacterium commonly found in soil and bodies of water, scientists were still a long way from fermentative production of the raw cosmetic material with its unusual property profile. It was a journey that lasted several years and required the expertise of an exceptionally wide range of Evonik specialists.

Creavis laid the foundation in Marl, where molecular biologists successfully transferred the metabolic pathway to a harmless bacterium that could be readily used in industrial processes. The organism was then modified to use sugar as its sole source of carbon. As a result, the process does not require the use of tropical oils—a major advantage when it comes to sustainability. A considerable portion of the development work then consisted of optimizing the biocatalyst and the broader process conditions to produce the desired product extremely efficiently.

As the name suggests, this product will not be the last in the series. Scientists are already hard at work on more glycolipids and on optimizing the biocatalyst—work that, in some cases, is being conducted at Creavis, with the aim of tapping into higher-volume applications for glycolipids.