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SCC Annual Scientific Meeting and Technology Showcase Report

By: Katie Schaefer

Posted: December 16, 2008

NEW YORK--More than 1,000 attendees from around the world gathered in an unseasonably warm New York City on Dec. 11–12, 2008, for the annual SCC Scientific Meeting and Technology Showcase. The program offered a variety of subjects in personal care; from multicultural formulating and sustainability, to tissue engineering and a special polymer/surfactant interaction tribute session in memory of Des Goddard.

Day One

Multicultural Skin Care/Technology
The event opened with a scientific session focused on multicultural skin care technology, moderated by Zoe Diana Draelos, MD, a dermatologist in private practice and a primary investigator for Dermatology Consulting Services. The final talk of the opening session featured the Frontiers of Science Award Lecture, sponsored by Cosmetics & Toiletries magazine.

Pyridoxine: The first speaker, Hitoshi Masaki, PhD, president of Nikkol Chemicals Group, Cosmos Technical Center Co., presented on pyridoxine’s ability to induce filaggrin in human keratinocytes. According to Masaki, pyridoxine, also known as vitamin B6, supports protein synthesis and amino acid and lipid metabolism. Masaki’s team investigated the physiological effects of vitamin B6 to find a derivative that can be used to treat dermatitis. They found that synthesized vitamin B6 tri-isopalmitate (VB6-IP) maintained stability in formulations, in addition to performing in a similar fashion to vitamin B6. The group noted that VB6-UO accelerates filaggrin production similarly to vitamin B6 and improves the water contact of the skin surface.

Confocal Raman Spectroscopy: David J. Moore, PhD, senior director of materials science at ISP’s corporate research center, followed Masaki’s presentation with his findings on confocal Raman spectroscopy. Moore explained that a resolution of 1 micron can be achieved with Raman, and 2–3 microns can further be obtained with confocal, enabling a closer look at biological tissue samples. According to Moore, confocal Raman allows researchers to take an intact tissue sample and observe the molecular organization of the tissue for information on the fluidity of the lipids in the sample. This reportedly is useful in examining mechanisms of penetration. The molecular structure can be used to view the pro-drug to drug conversion within skin, and the ability to monitor changes in chemistry is direct and non-destructive.