Synthetic Biology: Transforming the Future of Personal care

Synthetic Biology: Transforming the Future of Personal care

Synthetic Biology is an emerging field with implications in various industries like healthcare, bioplastics, and textiles. However, one industry that is often overlooked is personal care. While consumers may not typically associate personal care products with synthetic biology products, many products are indeed derived from this field.

As consumers become increasingly conscious of the ingredients in their products, consumers have high expectations from personal care products, and the demand of sustainability has risen. Synthetic biology meets this demand of the products applied to develop ingredients and compounds in the personal care industry, fundamentally transforming our perception of these products. This raises the questions of what specific applications synthetic biology has in the personal care industry and how it operates.

Unlocking Beauty: The Power of Synthetic Biology in Personal Care

By harnessing the power of synthetic Biology in personal care, the products are categorized into skincare, haircare and fragrances. Scientists modify the organism that create various compounds that include skincare ingredients like collagen, palm oils and squalene and various medical ingredients like bioactive peptides and polysaccharides like hyaluronic acid replacing animal products and moving to more sustainability. Over the past ten years, several synthetic biology businesses have made significant advancements revolutionizing.

The Skincare Revolution: Bioengineered Beauty for Radiant Skin

Collagen: Exact control over the qualities of the collagen, strong processability, and improved safety features—like being hypoallergenic and devoid of animal viruses—are all guaranteed by recombinant collagen made using precision fermentation technology. Furthermore, it leaves less of an environmental impact than collagen generated from animals. Many companies are producing recombinant collagen:

• Geltor offers bio designed proteins ingredients such as HumaColl21®, Collume®, NuColl™ which are making animal free and sustainable collagens and other companies like Modern Meadow, Jellatech

• Liven Proteins are commercially manufacturing bio designed collagen using Precision fermentation technology, replacing the traditional collagen.

Squalane: This natural moisturizer, similar in structure squalene, lipid produced by our skin, traditionally comes from sharks' liver, coming to the consuming friendly animal free products here are some of the examples:

• Amyris manufactures bioidentical Neossance® squalane using modified yeast and its synthetic biology platform to transform sugarcane into squalane. This product has several properties like skin brightening, moisturizing, anti-ageing

• Biossance produces squalene, made from sustainable fermented sugarcane, which creates a sustainable and eco-friendly ingredient that is also a highly effective moisturizing oil.

Peptides:

• Ourself produces Intides™, a peptide which are encapsulated during formulation by its patented technology delivers active ingredients into skin without needle using multiphasic vesicles that benefits skin to penetrate deeper and rebuild the skin

Other Ingredients:

• Retinol developed by Conagen is using precision fermentation and
• Debut Biotech a San diego company developing polyphenols, biopolymers, and natural colors, prized for their high-performance, anti-aging, and antioxidant properties and bioactive peptides.
• Bioengineered silk protein developed by Bolt Threads, offering a new sustainable option.

Haircare Innovations: Using Synthetic Biology to Reinforce Strands

Scientists have manipulated microbes to generate proteins that improve the strength, texture, and growth of hair. When added to hair care products, these genetically engineered substances provide a revolutionary option for people who are dealing with weak, brittle hair or hair loss. Synthetic Biology is revolutionizing to Bioactive Peptides, a leading company

• K18 hair, which is acquired by Unilever now, just launch its hair care products which is considered as consumers friendly product is K18 peptide that repairs the hair damage within minutes at a molecular level mimicking the hair keratin structure Its new product in the market is AirWash™ which is a dry shampoo that eliminates odors from hair.

Fragrance Future: Synthetic Biology Reimagines Scent Science

• Arcaea, a business in the scent sector, is developing deodorant that uses the skin's microbiota. Arcaea also introduced Future Society, the first Syn Bio fragrance line. Inspired by extinct flora, its fragrances are made using sustainable synthetic biology materials.

Overcoming Obstacles and Prospects for the Future: Using Synthetic Biology to Navigate the Frontier of Synthetic Beauty

Despite the potential benefits these products face several challenges including addressing concerns about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the ecological impact and ensuring the safety and long-term effect of bioengineered ingredients and one major industrial difficulty is low penetration of new products, or how to get the active chemicals into the skin.

Looking ahead, Synthetic Biology combined with AI holds potential for developing customized formulations tailored individuals' genetic makeup promising further advancement in skin care and hair products.

References

[1] https://www.tomorrow.bio/post/biology-meets-beauty-how-synthetic-biology-can-impact-the-cosmetic-industry-2023-08-4956556941-biotechnology

[2] https://www.synbiobeta.com/read/synthetic-biology-in-everyday-life-from-lab-to-the-beauty-counter

[3] https://medium.com/@adachoudhry26/how-synthetic-biology-can-impact-the-beauty-industry-36fd163c2c11

[4] https://www.biotechconnection-sg.org/synthetic-biology-and-sustainable-cosmetics/

[5] https://www.clinikally.com/blogs/news/biotech-beauty-a-new-era-in-skincare-and-cosmetic-science

[6] https://www.cosmeticsandtoiletries.com/magazine/article/22737582/cosmetics-toiletries-magazine-synbio-to-solve-cosmetic-ingredient-supply-challenges-a-discussion

[7] https://www.trackmind.com/biotechnology-revolution-in-beauty/

[8] https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-024-00164-6

[9] https://www.synbiobeta.com/read/a-guide-on-how-to-make-an-impactful-synbio-cosmetics-startup

[10] https://www.sagentiainnovation.com/insights/is-synthetic-biology-the-answer-to-personal-cares-prayers/

[11] https://wittingtonvc.medium.com/synthetic-biology-is-the-key-to-a-sustainable-beauty-industry-4d05e5485965