COSMO: COSMetics in Orléans

Period

2013 - 2016

Coordinator of the consortium: Prof. Salvatore Magazu, University of Messina - IT

The STUDIUM Consortium « COSMO » will allow to create a virtual team of five internationally competitive researchers sharing the common research goal of planning and putting in action a series of initiatives addressed to promote applied researches directed towards the analysis of some topical themes in cosmetics.
The Consortium aims to establish a group of international researchers working at the interface with industries of the Pole de compétitivité of the Cosmetic Valley. It is well established that research plays a key role within Cosmetic Valley and in this framework the Consortium will closely interact with actors from large industrial groups, with smaller companies and with research teams from universities. The Studium Consortium can play an important since the interaction between different research-oriented partners can make the development of technologies and products more efficient. The basic assumption is that, in cosmetics industry, innovation is in rapid turnover and only a structured research approach can allow the development of new cosmetic products that answer market needs while integrating the latest technological discoveries.
Cosmeceuticals comprise new categories of products that rely on the skin biology and nanotechnology to deliver clinically proven active ingredients to the skin. These products are very popular and they represent the largest growing part of the skin care market. This concerns mainly products that help in the prevention of skin aging and treatment of skin diseases. To date, there are some controversies about the efficacy and the safety of these cosmeceuticals. It is quite clear that research investigations must be undertaken to these different points due to the growing demand to combat signs of ageing.
In this frame, the Consortium research activity will be mainly addressed to the optimization of innovative cosmetics and cosmeceutical products, to the clarification of some therapeutic aspects in cosmetics, to the characterization of biomarkers and to develop new types of drug delivery systems which have great potential for achieving the goal in drug targeting.
The Consortium activity will be mainly addressed to plan initiatives and to perform research activities in the field of cosmetics and cosmeceutics. These latter include the understanding, at a molecular level, of the physico-chemical phenomena of the condensed phases and of dispersed matter systems which are the basis for formulation and vectorization as well as the characterization and optimization of biomarkers and bioactives.

As far as the reseach activities are concerned, these will follow main lines: