by Lauren Pafumi, FLC Midwest Region Support Office A team from the Agricultural Research Service's (ARS) National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR) has successfully commercialized a botanical material and process that benefits the cosmetic and skin care industry.
The NCAUR scientists demonstrated the effectiveness of an enzymatic combination of botanical molecules with vegetable oil with protecting skin from the damaging effects of sun and environmental exposure. The process was first demonstrated by combining ferulic acid with soybean oil, collectively referred to as SoyScreen™. The resulting lotion is a strong UVA- and UVB-absorbing material that formulates well with materials used in many current cosmetic products and is ideal for skin care. "We take a material that's found in nature…and attach it to vegetable oil, making it greasy, and that product acts as a good skin care product by absorbing UV rays and preventing oxidation from happening in your skin," said NCAUR's Dr. Joseph Laszlo, who led the effort along with Dr. David Compton. Dr. Laszlo's and Dr. Compton's work garnered them an FLC Midwest Region Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer in 2009. A key part of NCAUR's mission is to find new commercial uses for agricultural products such as vegetable and soybean oils. The trend of many cosmetic retailers to seek botanical ingredients for their brands made the new process a good fit with industry trends. Dr. Laszlo first had the idea that led to the creation of SoyScreen™ about ten years ago while reading a review of the chemistry of sunscreens in a chemistry trade journal: "I said, 'Hey, some of those molecules sound like something plants already have, and we can improve on that by our chemistry.'" Dr. Laszlo soon began to work with Dr. Compton to investigate this possibility, and their idea quickly proved correct. "We were able to select the right enzymology to do the reaction, and within a couple years we had the scientific aspects of the process well documented," said Dr. Lazslo. "It was a much more arduous task to get the material to a state where it could be commercially transferred." They received a patent in 2002, and began working to introduce their new discovery to potential commercial partners. The scientists' personal efforts were crucial in bringing about the commercialization of this technology. They were responsible for initiating and cultivating the personal contacts leading to the creation of iSoyTechnologies Corporation, the exclusive licensee of the SoyScreen™ technology. After potential licensees expressed a desire to work with a commercial partner instead of directly with the government, iSoyTechnologies was formed with the guidance of local entrepreneurs' groups. Drs. Laszlo and Compton serve as scientific advisors to iSoyTechnologies to optimize production and shipping, and to develop new ideas for the product. The scientists also developed novel methods of mass production for the technology. This led to the creation of a new facility for SoyScreen™ production. The facility is designed to bring producers together to work closely with scientists. Drs. Laszlo and Compton were heavily involved in developing the facility and personally worked to prepare it. The Biotechnology Research and Development Corporation (BRDC), with whom NCAUR has an ongoing CRADA, provided some funding for equipment. "The technology transfer elements that the ARS has in place are extremely useful to keep scientists such as myself from making errors in the whole process," Dr. Laszlo said. "There are cliffs and hazards out there that we would not see." The team's approach is now being deployed to convert other botanical ingredients to lipid derivatives for skin care applications. SoyScreen™ is currently being used in a wrinkle-treatment product available at high-end U.S. retailers and in an Elizabeth Arden line sold overseas. While the current economic climate has slowed many companies' adoption of new ingredients, several have still expressed interest in SoyScreen™ and are looking into adding it to their product lines. Plans are in development for Elizabeth Arden and the makers of the Banana Boat sun care line to market products using SoyScreen™ in Western markets throughout 2009 and 2010. The creators are already looking at additional uses for the molecule and the production process. Most of the applications they are considering are in the skin and hair care area; however, they also may expand their work to creating food ingredients. Commercialization is foremost in their minds as they consider new uses. "SoyScreen™ was just the first prototype, and there will be a variety of new molecules down the pipeline," said Dr. Laszlo. "Technology transfer is a guiding light for all our research plans."
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