Desenvolvimento de um hidrogel facial biodegradável e funcional com base celulósica

Abstract

Currently, hydrogels have been used in numerous areas, with applications in Tissue Engineering, as well as in other areas, namely pharmaceutical and cosmetics. This internship report was developed in the scope of the Curricular Unit of Internship of the Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering, at the College of Biotechnology of the Portuguese Catholic University in partnership with the company Amyris. The main objective of this study was the development of a biodegradable and functional cellulose-based facial patch with the incorporation of bioactive agents. Thus, initially, a literature review was carried out on the theoretical aspects of hydrogels, focusing on their applications in the cosmetic area. The work consisted in the development of three main formulations based on cellulose. To the cellulosebased formulation, other ingredients were added, as some emulsification and permeation agents, among others. Subsequently, the ingredients and methods used for the formulation’s development were described in detail, including the parameters used in the development of the product, as well as the main methodologies used for the analysis and characterization of the obtained hydrogels (e.g., adhesiveness, hardness and swelling). In addition, an evaluation of the cost associated with the production of the hydrogels was performed, as well as an analysis of the product sustainability, using green metrics as Environmental factor (E-factor) and Product Mass Intensity (PMI), whose values were confronted with theoretical results. All the results of the tests performed were compared with commercial products used as control. The results showed that the hydrogels containing carboxymethylcellulose or a mixture of cellulose with starch, as based matrices showed very promising adhesiveness and hardness properties. Finally, a general analysis of all the results obtained was performed, with emphasis on future perspectives and discussion of possible improvements in terms of product design and performance, aiming to achieve a functional hydrogel with the desired characteristics and commercial potential.

Date of Award	18 Jan 2023
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Alessandra Braga Ribeiro (Supervisor) & Oscar Leandro Ramos (Co-Supervisor)