SMIDS –The Natural & Programmable Stabilizer

SMIDS™ is a bio-polymer system based on raw-materials from natural marine sources. SMIDS™ provides a method for tailoring the melting point of a cosmetic composition according to customer specifications.

It reduces the need for chemical emulgators, surfactants and tensides, and avoids mammalian collagen with associated contamination hazards.

SMIDS™ - the history

In order to develop and expand the market for fish gelatin, professor Olav Smidsrød and Kurt Draget at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) started research projects on  marine based molecules. The low melting point of marine collagen from cold water fish renders this biopolymer unsuitable by itself for production of conventional capsule material. In nature fish that lives at temperatures at 5° C must have a connective tissue that remains flexible at this temperature. The consequence is a collagen that melts at a much lower temperature compared to collagen from mammals with body temperatures around 37° C.

To circumvent this problem, carrageenan from red algae was added to elevate the melting point, to make a firmer and more stable gel. This line of research resulted in loose aqueous gels with melting point around 35° C. Such gels are named SMIDS™. SMIDS™ has multiple uses in a variety of cosmetic products, and in other areas as well.

The components in the SMIDS™ biopolymer system are produced under rigorous supervision and are approved for inclusion in nutriments, cosmetics and cosmeceuticals. In a number of tests, products including SMIDS™ show no allergic reaction or adverse effects.  Cosmetics containing SMIDS™ has been sold on the Scandinavian marked since 2006 with no adverse effects reported.

SMIDS™ is a biopolymer system based on collagen from marine sources and carrageenan from red algae. At room temperature SMIDS™ stabilizes a water-lipid emulsion while binding large amount of water (up to 80% of total volume) with reduced use of chemical emulgators, surfactants and tensides.

In contrast to competing systems, which tend to melt in a linear fashion upon exposure to increasing temperature, SMIDS™ is designed to melt in a two-stage fashion. The initial and stable state where no decrease in system stability is observed, and the melting state where the system rapidly softens.

The onset of the melting stage can be tailored to meet various requests (e.g. the surface temperature of the skin). The result is a cosmetic cream stable upon storage, but rapidly smoothening when applied on the skin. Upon melting on the skin surface, SMIDS™ leaves a water-binding biofilm that decreases the transepidermal water loss.

It is well known that mammalian collagen is a stable and rigid structure at physiological skin temperatures (32–35 °C) and will therefore not penetrate the skin. In contrast, the collagen in SMIDS™ melts at lower temperatures and collagen molecules of sufficient low molecular weight may penetrate the Stratum corneum. The SMIDS™ technology may thus also act as transport vectors for components beneficial for the well-being of the skin.

SMIDS™, being a formidable water carrier, will hydrate deeper skin layers, which in turn enhances the natural desquamation process (shedding of cornified cells from the skin surface) resulting in a more elastic and healthy skin.