South Korea's Shinsung Materials Co., Ltd. has patented a purification method for Ecamsule, a UV-A filter used in sunscreens, the company said in a July 20 release. The patent, Korean Patent No. 10-1937332, is titled "Purification Method of Terephthalylidene Dicamphor Sulfonic Acid," Ecamsule's chemical name.
Conventional Ecamsule has been difficult to handle during formulation and storage, according to the company. Shinsung Materials said it built a neutralization process around tromethamine to make the water-soluble filter easier to work into cosmetic formulas, and it now also produces the ingredient as a high-purity powder rather than only as a liquid, which it said simplifies processing.
A Shinsung Materials representative said the patented process improved the filter's photostability and its UV-A protection performance.
The company said ingredient produced through the process has been verified as meeting USP 44, the US Pharmacopeia purity standard. The release said this widens the options available to Korean cosmetics brands entering the US market. Ecamsule was previously an ingredient associated with companies including L'Oréal, and Shinsung Materials said localizing its production reduces reliance on imports.
The company also introduced two COSMOS-certified oil thickeners, Dextrin Palmitate and Stearoyl Inulin, and said Dextrin Palmitate forms clearer gels with more strength than conventional versions, along with a line of diol-based preservative ingredients: 1,2-Hexanediol, 1,2-Pentanediol, 1,2-Octanediol and Ethylhexylglycerin.
