70 BIOTECHNOLOGIES
Figure 1: IFF’s Designed Enzymatic Biopolymer technology gives rise to new-to-the-world materials that has high purity and consistent quality
is the foundational element on which nature builds highly precise and hierarchical macromolecules. A translation of these mechanisms into in vitro (biosynthetic pathways catalyzed by an isolated enzyme) synthesis is not trivial, as nature often uses complex biochemical and enzymatic pathways together with precise spatial control. Nonetheless, naturally occurring
polysaccharides can be made, in vitro, through a bottom-up, enzymatic polymerization. The attractive feature of enzymatic
polymerization of polysaccharides stems from the potential for high and selective activity (precise regioselectivity) that yields controlled, often novel, molecular structures, with the added bonus of intrinsically safe and mild reaction conditions. Enzymatic polymerization can enable the controlled synthesis of polysaccharides directly from sugars.4-7 Moreover, many of the structures obtained
through enzymatic catalysis are often difficult, if not-outright impossible, to synthesize through conventional chemical synthesis. For example, the chemical synthesis of a polysaccharide like cellulose is far more difficult than that of nucleic acid and proteins.
Designed enzymatic biopolymers For the past decade, IFF’s Health & Biosciences has been working on a biocatalysis process to enable development of tailored polysaccharides. This innovation – Designed Enzymatic Biopolymers (DEB) – gives rise to a new-to-the-world class of alpha- glucan polysaccharides from the enzymatic polymerization of glucose from sucrose with controlled morphology and structure.8 The alpha-glucan molecule has high purity,
and thanks to the enzymatic polymerization processes, a multitude of tailored morphologies and functional modifications are accessible, including addition of polar/non-polar, charged,
PERSONAL CARE March 2023
and other functionalities. This technology would allow for the creation of novel ingredients that are specifically designed to condition, thicken or form films, all while being biodegradable and biobased.
DEB bring three important benefits that
makes the alpha-glucan molecule superior in performance, helping break the trade-off between natural and synthetic polymers in beauty and personal care. They are highly customizable, have excellent structural uniformity, and can be designed to be biodegradable. ■ Highly customizable - DEB are a class of versatile polysaccharides that can be modified with a variety of functional groups including but not limited to hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and charged groups. This means they can be specifically designed to be more formula compatible or to provide additional benefit, such as conditioning or rheology modification. ■ Great structural uniformity - the precisely controlled enzymatic process ensures excellent structural uniformity for the DEB polymers. This offers high reproducibility and little batch-to- batch variation. ■ Designed for biodegradability - biodegradability is an intrinsic feature to polysaccharide chemistry. In fact, the ASTM and ISO standards make polysaccharides the gold standard for biodegradation in all environments (marine, soil, industrial, and soil composting).3 Being able to customize the structure allows
DEB to integrate performance parameters into the development phase and design a high- performing polymer that is still biodegradable. This is further supported by the excellent biodegradability profile of the alpha-glucan backbone. DEB allow the creation of new-to-the-world
polymers that can be designed and customized to meet desired performance needs and product specifications for specific applications.
Like natural polymers, these can then be further optimized via chemical modification.
Impact of designed enzymatic polymerization The DEB manufacturing process operates at ambient temperature and pressure, allowing for the polymerization process to take place in mild conditions without the use of harsh solvents used in conventional processes. DEB thereby reduce overall energy use to improve the environmental footprint. It also creates a fructose co-product which can be used for other applications to prevent sugar waste. The process uses enzymes to precisely
control the sequence and manner in which glucose molecules are linked, leading to a consistent, high-quality polymer with tuneable qualities. Consequently, this allows for novel, efficacious polymers that can rival and even surpass the performance of traditional synthetic polymers.
DEB embrace the important principles for
creating a sustainable production system for the BPC industry, with minimal impact on the environment.
With the DEB generation of functional
ingredients, formulators, brands and customers will no longer have to choose between sustainability and performance, but will be able to have both. Brands will be able to create biobased and sustainable products that outperform those based on synthetic ingredients, and a new, more sustainable era for the beauty and personal care industry will finally be here.
Conclusion Designed Enzymatic Biopolymers are a novel class of designed polysaccharides which combines the high performance, purity and consistency of synthetic polymers used today, with the desired biobased and biodegradable
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