Interview mit Vladislav Perunov, Director at Biopolax (Biopolymers Limited)

Vladislav Perunov
Director at Biopolax (Biopolymers Limited)

Your company is quite new on the market. Could you tell me about your company and what it does?

Biopolax is a London-based developer and manufacturer of biopolymer-based additives for home and personal care products with an emphasis on sustainability and hypoallergic properties.

We have recently launched our first product – BPX-S6 additive that is a plant-based multi-functional biopolymer additive based on the microgels of polysaccharide technology – and are actively looking for distributors.

The name “microgels of polysaccharides” sounds familiar. Could I have heard the name before? 

You are right. The technology has been previously used in healthcare to deliver drugs inside the human body. Microgels could encapsulate a drug to safely bypass sensitive organs and when delivered to the target organ the microgel globule would dissipate to release the drug to combat a tumour for instance.

What we did was we discovered the industrial applications for this interesting substance and developed a scalable method of producing microgels.

Sounds very interesting! What exactly does your product do in a formulation?

There are three modifications of the BPX-S6 additive each with slightly different properties. Among the most important are the following.

First of all, complexing properties thanks to polydentate centres that bind and inhibit metal ions creating chelates. The efficiency of complexing is comparable to sodium citrate or CMI. Besides, the product has dispersing properties.

The presence of organic salts results in rheology modification properties in the surfactant system that can be thickened with NaCl salt. 

BPX-S6 modifications designed for laundry and surface cleaning applications have anti-static properties.

As such, BPX additives can help to reduce the concentration of surfactants in formulations, increase emulsifying and anti-resorption properties, and improve the ‘rinsability’ of the final product which may be helpful for personal care applications.

And you mentioned that they are sustainable.

Indeed, thank you. The product is plant-based and it’s readily biodegradable. Besides, we have performed tests to confirm that the product is hypoallergic.

That’s impressive, but is it easy to use in a formula? Does a formulator need specific conditions to use the additive?

It remains active at temperatures between +5°С and +80°С. It has a wide operating pH range. The biopolymer is compatible with solvents, alkalis and weak acids, anionic, non-ionic and amphoteric surfactants.

At that, it’s not compatible with fat-soluble fragrances, oils, or cationic surfactants.

The required concentration depends on the specific property and the product, but it’s usually below 5%.

What products can BPX additives be used in?

BPX-S6 can be used in pretty much all of the home and rinse-off personal care products. 

Home care formulations include liquid laundry detergents, washing up liquids, as well as various surface cleaners, bathroom cleaners, toilet cleaners.

Among the personal care products, those would be shampoos, shower gels, face washes, hand gels, intimate hygiene products. Besides, the additives can be used in products for children. And in pet care products.

However, where the product can really add value is in eco-friendly and skin-friendly formulations.

Thank you for the description of the BPX-S6 properties and the products where it can be used. I wonder what makes you think that the product will be in demand in the market.

As one argument, the World Allergy Organisation estimates from 10% to 40% of the world's population suffer from various allergies. That’s a striking number and it’s growing! One of the factors is the proliferation of synthetic chemicals some of which may take eons to decompose, the so-called forever chemicals.

The legislators do a great job trying to solve those problems, but the consumer ever increasing education and awareness does even more. There is a growing global people-led demand for non-toxic, biodegradable, and hypoallergic chemical ingredients for all consumer products including both personal and home care products. 

I feel BPX-S6 is very well suited to be on the solutions side in this process.

Are there any other products that your company is looking to launch any time soon?

We are currently developing a new type of product – Gemini surfactants.

This is a new generation of surfactants that have dimeric structures meaning that they are composed of two hydrophobic heads and two hydrophilic tails. This structure offers lower critical micelle concentration and better efficiency at forming micelles.

For formulators, this would mean a very small amount of the surfactant would be needed to achieve the required level of washing ability translating into cost savings and better skin compatibility.