Main description:

The on-going 'green' trend in the personal care industry coupled with global environmental concerns, place natural-origin, biodegradable and skin-friendly surfactants such as alkyl polyglucosides (APGs) in high demand. After successful use in cosmetics, sufficient data has been obtained to welcome some sugar emulsifiers into the field of drug dosage. Alkyl Polyglucosides presents a comprehensive compendium which guides a researcher from the APG-related preformulation stages to formulation processing, including the investigation of various APG-stabilized systems skin performance. This book introduces various APG representatives, their benefits in relation to certain conventional surfactants, physicochemical and interfacial properties, possible interaction with commonly used ingredients and diverse characterization techniques indispensable for the assessment of colloidal systems. The first chapter introduces alkyl polyglucosides, followed by chapters on their properties, behaviour, an overview of the patent protection mechanisms and guidelines for submitting patent applications. Finally, a conclusion surveys international patent applications involving APGs.

Contents:

Alkyl polyglucosides: An emerging class of sugar surfactants Introduction; Environmental evaluation of alkyl polyglucosides; References; Behind the Alkyl Polyglucoside-based structures: Lamellar liquid crystalline and lamellar gel phases in different emulsion systems: Introduction; Alkyl Polyglucosides; Physicochemical properties of APGs; Critical micelle concentration and micelle shape; Absorption and clouding behaviour of APGs; Phase behaviour; General consideration on APGs safety profile; Lamellar mesophase stabilized emulsion systems; References; An overview of the patent protection mechanisms at international and regional levels; Guidelines for submitting applications according to the Patent Cooperation Treaty; Patent applications within the framework of the European Patent Convention; Recent case law relating to the patent protection of alkyl polyglucosides; Concluding remarks; References