Issue 04/2023

26 bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/23] Vol. 18
Materials
Enzymatic Biomaterials
Technology Platform
IFF (New York, NY, USA) announced the launch of its
new-to-the-world Designed Enzymatic Biomaterials (DEB)
technology for the development of biobased materials
at scale. Designed to deliver meaningful sustainability
benefits – with performance comparable or superior to
fossil-based materials – DEB technology helps to address
growing preferences for environmentally-friendly, highperformance
biopolymers.
The technology platform offers manufacturers the
opportunity to meet regulatory changes and mounting
consumer demands to replace traditional fossil-based
synthetic polymers. DEB is poised to lead the rapidly
progressing bio-revolution by unlocking purposeful
and sustainable innovation across various applications
and products in home care, personal care, fabric care,
and industrial markets.
“With the DEB technology platform, scientists can now
build the functions of petroleum-based polymers into
biopolymer materials directly – customizing and finetuning
polysaccharides to enable sustainable performance
enhancements within the chosen application”, said Wayne
Ashton, VP of Home and Personal Care at IFF. “From my
perspective, this is one of the most innovative technology
platforms to launch industry-wide in the last 15 years”.
Biomaterials derived from renewable raw materials are
becoming a preferred option for many customers as they
can be considerably more sustainable than their traditional,
fossil-based counterparts. However, in the past, some
biomaterials have demonstrated performance weaknesses,
limiting their adoption and market penetration.
IFF’s cutting-edge DEB technology utilizes advanced
biotechnology to create unique, structurally diverse
polysaccharides like those found in nature, but at scale,
with an accuracy and consistency typically only found in
conventional plastics. Its new family of advanced tailored
biomaterials uses only plant-based sugars, water, and
enzymes; to open up access to a range of materials
with glycosidic linkage control, designed-in molecular
weights and morphology.
The promising potential of this innovative
technology platform has already been demonstrated
across several industries.
• Personal Care Applications – AURIST AGC, IFF’s first
personal care ingredient enabled by DEB technology
can significantly improve both wet and dry combability
in conditioning haircare products and is a readily
biodegradable alternative to synthetic incumbents.
The newly launched conditioning biopolymer won the
prestigious gold in the functional ingredients category
at the 2023 in-cosmetics Global Innovation Zone
Best Ingredient Award.
• Home Care Applications – Lyrature is a growing family
of nature-inspired, customizable, high-performance
biopolymers, designed to pursue fully biodegradable
detergents and cleansers. The DEB technology can be
applied as cleaning polymers, rheology modifiers, and
emulsion stabilizers.
• Industrial Applications – Nuvolve engineered
polysaccharides are currently being developed
successfully as performance-enhancing materials
for textile and performance additive applications and
together with partners across various industries such as
packaging, paper and board as well as nonwovens and
performance composites. Nuvolve solutions are designed
to meet the established polymer grade, industry
specifications that are expected from fossil-derived
products but are typically not met by the traditional
biomaterials available today.
IFF embeds its commitment to circular design across its
business as a guiding principle toward creating responsible,
sustainable, and closed-loop systems in which materials
are reused and waste becomes a resource. The Company
continues to seek partnerships with forward-thinkers to
drive the bio-revolution. To learn more about how Designed
Enzymatic Biomaterials from IFF are powering a new frontier
in biomaterial innovation, visit their website. AT
https://bioscience.iff.com