Lastingness is one of the strong needs of consumers for the cosmetics of daytime use, such as sunscreens and foundations. Cosmetic transfer to masks is also an annoying point for consumers even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Various technologies have been developed to solve these needs gaps, but there are still very few environmentally friendly solutions, i.e., with sustainable materials. We developed a technology called PGP (Polyion complex Gel Particles), by introducing dynamic cross-linking to polyion complex using sustainable materials, and applied it to sunscreen BB cream. In vitro and in vivo tests of the formulations and consumer use tests confirmed that the PGP technology provides better color transfer protection and longer-lasting sunscreen efficacy than existing technologies while maintaining usability. This is due to the high encapsulation and film formation abilities of PGP, which allows pigments and lipophilic UV filters to be confined in the cosmetic film, and to the self-recovering function of the cosmetic film thanks to the structural change of PGP through dynamic cross-linking reconstitution. We consider that PGP can solve the strong lasting needs of consumers with an environmentally friendly approach, and is a technology that can be widely applied to different cosmetic products across categories.

Autophagy is one of the fundamental cellular mechanisms, which is responsible for the intra-cellular degradation and recycling process. Recent studies have shown the possibility that autophagy functions as a core mechanism for healthy longevity, and it is attracting attention globally. In this article, we will review the mechanism of autophagy and introduce the major methods for measuring its activity.

Emulsification is an important technology in the industrial fields. Emulsions are non-equilibrium state; therefore, the variables in emulsification research are numerous and complicated to analyze, and as a result, many industrial applications have had to rely on empirical rules. In this study, emulsions with a lamellar liquid crystalline phase as an adsorption layer at the emulsion interface were investigated. The characteristics of O/W emulsions formed with the excess aqueous and oil phases separated from the lamellar liquid crystalline phase were investigated based on the phase equilibrium of the ternary system.

As a result, it was found that by agitating the aqueous phase containing vesicles of polyether modified silicone together with the oil phase, an emulsion with a uniform interfacial membrane of lamellar liquid crystalline phase could be obtained. The emulsions were found to have good stability against coalescence. The process of transformation from vesicles to the interfacial membrane during the emulsification process was clarified by a freeze-fracture transmission electron micrograph and the calculation of interfacial membrane thickness based on precise particle size analysis. It is expected that this research will lead to the evolution of various functionalities in products in the fields of cosmetics, household products, food, pharmaceuticals, and others.

Marine plastics pollutions are critical environmental problem. Their impacts on world ecosystem are quite serious and they need to be solved rapidly. Collaboration and partnership among stakeholder are important and necessary to work on the matter, as plastics litters causing the problem are involved in commodity value chain. Japan Clean Ocean Material Alliance (CLOMA) was established in January 2019. As corporate alliance, CLOMA is tackling the facing problem by getting knowledge, technic and method together.