Elzbieta SIKORA currently works at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology, Cracow University of Technology. She does research in Organic Chemistry, Nanotechnology and Green Chemistry.
Their current project is ’The research was supported by NCBiR project : „ The development of a new generation of environmentally friendly, safe in the use of cosmetics and household products involving plant extracts obtained under supercritical CO2 , contract no PBS1/A5/18/2012’.
New products containing active substances from the plants are systematically appearing on the cosmetics market. Among others natural products, based on raw materials that meet the standards set for natural and organic cosmetics (COSMOS), are becoming more and more popular.
The extracts obtained under supercritical CO2 conditions (SC-CO2) are an interesting alternative to plant extracts obtained by traditional methods. The parameters of the SC-CO2 process allow to obtain extracts of very high purity, free from contamination with conventional solvents. Additionally, relatively low temperatures and anaerobic atmosphere during the process, avoid oxidation and thermal decomposition of the bioactive components contained in the plant extracts, such as : triglycerides of essential fatty acids (EFAs), phospholipids, tocopherols, carotenoids, phytosterols or phytohormones.
During seminar, the influence of selected extracts, obtained under supercritical CO2 conditions, on the physicochemical and user properties of cleansing products and mature skin care emulsions will be discussed. The moisturizing effect of berry fruit seed extracts (blackcurrant, strawberry, blackberry and chokeberry), as well as antibacterial and astringent properties of the hops extract will be described. Moreover, the results of studies on obtaining effective cosmetic formulations, such as microemulsions, nanoemulsions or lipid nanoparticles will be presented.
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