Biorefinaria de resíduos marinhos: plataformas bioativas para uma indústria cosmética circular

MareCircularis project designs an industrial marine waste biorefinery as a renewable and natural source of chitin, chitosan, astaxanthin (also obtained from Haematococcus pluvialis (HP), Algicel collaborative partner), GlcN-derivatives and protein hydrolysates. This biorefinery can also produce activated biobased carbons (as charcoal and activated carbons), which have adsorption properties for the elimination of fat pollutants from skin care products (cleansers, masks and soaps). Due to their remarkable biological properties, the incorporation of bioactive platforms derived from SSW has great potential for application in cosmetic products. In addition, the encapsulation of these compounds in NLC promotes their penetration into the upper layers of the skin. To this end, cosmetic formulations based on NLC (hydrogels) will be developed, characterized and tested in vitro on skin cell cultures. The overall objective of MareCircularis project is to demonstrate the interest in the context of blue-bioeconomy of aligning a biorefinery model for the valorization of industrial marine waste to produce bioactive platforms for a circular cosmetic industry. The focus will be done to the SSW valorization due to the extension of the exploratory project Shell4BioA. The biorefinery of marine waste usually uses separately chemical or enzymatic processes to obtain the bioactive platforms. The sustainability of the chemical processes and the low yields of enzymatic processes are the main drawbacks to hinder their industrial implementation. This proposal will combine chemical/mechanical/enzymatic processes to improve the yields of all the important SSW derived bioactive platforms and the sustainability of the processes. LCA and LCC studies will be carried out for the new biorefinery process in order to evaluate its environmental impacts and economic potential for the production of bioactive compounds to be used in various industries and applications, such as the cosmetic industry. These ambitious objectives are beyond the state of the art, as this is the first SSW biorefinery process that addresses the utilization of an abundant waste material, valorizing it by obtaining high value compounds with applications in various sectors, while combining knowledge and expertise from various areas, such as process design, biotechnology and pharmaceutical technologies. This project aims to: 1) Combine chemical/mechanical/enzymatic processes to recover SSW-derived bioactive platforms (astaxanthin, chitosan, protein hydrolysates and bioactivated carbons). Improve yields up to 10 %. 2) Develop a chemical process to convert chitosan in GlcNAc and GlcNH2 and prepare GlcN-derivatives to improve lipophilic properties to be incorporated in NLC. 3) Encapsulate astaxanthin (obtained from SSW and from HP-supply by Algicel partner) and GlcN-derivatives in NLC to improve skin penetration. Develop and characterize cosmetic formulations (hydrogels) based on NLC containing astaxanthin/N-derivatives for skin care. 4) Evaluate the in vitro safety of the developed cosmetic formulations through biocompatibility studies in skin cells (keratinocytes and fibroblasts). 5) Evaluate the antioxidant potential of astaxanthin-loaded NLC in skin cells. 6) Carry out LCA and LCC studies to validate sustainability gains including environmental and socio-economic impacts.