MINERV BIO COSMETICS FORMULATION TYPE C1
WORLDWIDE NEW PATENT

A number of associations are active in different parts of the world. The associations are particularly focused on constantly communicating the problem surrounding the use of polymers in beauty products (cosmetics). Since 2013, they have strongly denounced the problem of ocean pollution caused by some cosmetics and body care products, particularly skin exfoliants. This category of products has become the figurehead in a series of products (e.g. shampoo, creams, make-up and many more) cited in the recent law proposed in the USA and accepted by various states in the union.
The official publication of this new USA law, which prevents the use of oil-based polymers in body care products and particularly the category defined as "exfoliants" by the Obama administration (President of the U.S.A.), generates an enormous opportunity for the platform products generated by Bio-on (PHAs, Polyhydroxyalkanoates) as well as its particular applications, as is the case with the new patent for the beauty products sector called minerv pha bio cosmetics type C1.
The stance taken by the USA against the plastics that in nano and micrometric dimensions form polluting Microbeads is aimed exclusively at the "conventional" polymers widely used in cosmetics, as stated in the law: polyethylene (PE), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), nylon, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP). Oil-based polymers not compostable in the environment not only pollute by their very presence but also increase pollution due to the prolonged periods that they persist in the water and soil. Replacing these oil-based polymers with bio-based polymers or even biopolymers would not change the problem of pollution in the environment and, particularly, in the seas. We believe that the only choice capable of producing real change is to pursue not just Plastic Free Seas, but Microbead Free Seas. This is easy to achieve, using polymers that are truly capable of being completely broken down by the bacterial component within a short time and, therefore, not capable of forming Microbeads. For this problem, the time taken for biodegradation and the metabolites formed as a consequence of this degradation are very important. Minerv bio cosmetics guarantees a relatively short persistence of PHA in water and soil and that the derivatives of bacterial aggression are biocompatible, and even useful to the environment as nutrients for micro-organisms (a very positive factor for the environment). Bio-on has a unique opportunity to propose to the cosmetics world to safeguard the environment without reducing the performance and effectiveness of their products by using bio-based PHAs, which does not accumulate in the environment because it is broken down by the bacterial component into molecules and metabolites, the presence of which is not only NON-toxic or harmful, but in certain aspects even necessary to feed specific biological processes, growth of plants, micro-organisms and insects.

Since 2007, Bio-on has been constructing a more sustainable future for the plastics sector, with proprietary know-how regarding the production of PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates), which are considered the best biopolymers by those consciously looking to the future. PHAs are plastics made 100% from renewable waste plant sources, with no competition with food supply chains, and are 100% biodegradable in a variety of environmental conditions, without dispersal of residue following biodegradation. Bio-on designed and patented the world's first fully bio-based PHAs plastic (certified since 2014 by the United States Department of Agriculture - USDA) and 100% naturally biodegradable in water and soil (certified since 2008 by Vinçotte) without the use of chemical solvents. This exceptional product is obtained through the natural fermentation of bacteria fed by by-products from the agricultural industry (no human food). Bio-on biopolymers have exceptional properties that adapt to the injection and extrusion methods currently in use in the plastic industry and can cover a vast range of strategic applications: biomedical, packaging, design, clothing, automotive and many more.

These are new biocompatible complexes, including a polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and a biomimetic inorganic compound, that can be used advantageously for the formulation of cosmetics and personal care products. The complex can act not only as a biodegradable polymeric component that remains for long periods on the skin and hair keratin even after prolonged rinsing, but also as an innovative carrier and dispenser of specific active substances, the bio-activity of which is prolonged after each application. minerv bio cosmetics (type C1) brings together respect for the environment and human health. Made from agriculture-based carbon sources, it is not made from oil-based products, but from the atmospheric CO₂ captured by the crops from which it is made.
It is totally biodegradable, unlike any other biopolymer, and respects the environment. PHAs molecules are also present in the human body; they are biocompatible and naturally absorbed once their action is carried out. Everyday products such as lipstick, lip gloss, mascara, eye-liner, nail polish, creams and shampoo contain plastic polymers, especially in the form of microbeads.
To date, all the plastic polymers used in the cosmetics world are obtained from fossil fuels, oil, and hydrocarbons in general.
This apparently limited yet immense worldwide use implies the extraction of oil, increased greenhouse effect, and the dispersion of non-biodegradable material into the environment.
This non-biodegradable oil-based plastic permeates the natural cycle down to the plankton in the rivers and oceans. Plankton is able to swallow the microbeads, thereby introducing them into the food chain. All of these environmental impacts disappear with MINERV PHA; since it is biodegradable, PHAs microbeads do not accumulate in the environment. What is more, it is a bio-compatible and naturally bioabsorbable material coming into contact with the skin, lips, hair and mucous membranes. Another important aspect: Bio-on has discovered that minerv bio cosmetics type C1 is capable of binding active molecules and antioxidants, such as coenzyme Q10, vitamins, proteins, and active substances in general, transporting them naturally to parts of the body where cosmetics products are normally applied. After having located the active substance where it must act, MINERV-PHA is naturally washed off or absorbed without a trace.

The industrial process developed by Bio-on has features that are unique in the technological panorama of the production and commercialisation of biopolymers. Our process allows us to focus on peerless "naturalness", since we do not use organic solvents and do not genetically modify bacteria and plants. These aspects enable the successful use of the PHAs obtained from the Bio-on process in many food applications and applications directly linked to living beings, both intracorporeal and extracorporeal. This is why we have already successfully developed scaffolds for the production of bone and arterial tissue. All of these products further enrich the Bio-on products portfolio. The new line of minerv bio cosmetics products is now available for finalising their use in myriad cosmetics applications. Our research and development team has developed an intense product development schedule for the 2016-2020 period, in part thanks to the replacement of the polymer particles used today in toothpaste, shampoo, exfoliants (those cited in the USA law), face make-up, tanning and sun creams and many other cosmetics products.
Bio-on is willing to collaborate with other private research centres to develop new vertical applications of minerv bio cosmetics type C1.
Our products, based on a polymer obtained through fermentation and 100% naturally and totally biodegradable in a short time (especially in small particles) in soil and water, is currently the most advanced product in the world for easily replacing the plastic used in all beauty products without any legislative limitation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAiIGd_JqZc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGzIz9Ld-sE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfq000AF1i8 http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/GuidanceRegulation/LawsRegulations/ucm2005209.htm https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1321/text http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/?uri=URISERV%3Aco0013 http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/cosmetics/legislation/index_en.htm