Nanotechnology start-up Hydrosome Labs has “developed a natural and chemical-free process improving the power of water through the emerging science of ultrafine bubbles,” according to the company in a recent press release.
The innovation “will create a new ingredient brand for firms using water to deliver active ingredients”, said the company, which added that it plans to “announce a licensing deal with a major beauty company known for its innovative technologies in a few months…that company is calling the new ultrafine bubble technology the next big breakthrough in skin care”.
Hydrosome Labs, whose R&D team includes members from prominent industry leaders, including Nestle and P&G, expects to close a Series A round of fundraising this spring. It also recently completed a seed funding round last year.
To learn more about Hydrosome Labs' breakthrough ultrafine bubble technology, including the R&D process behind the discovery, its anticipated impact on cosmetic and personal care product manufacturers and suppliers, and the start-up's plan for further innovation and development in this space, we spoke to Bob Jacobs, President of Hydrosome Labs for his insights.
Jacobs has a degree in Chemical Engineering and began his career in the personal care product space at P&G, where he managed the manufacturing process for Head & Shoulders. From there, he transitioned into marketing, spending most of his twenty-year career with P&G marketing brands like Crest and Thermacare.
R&D process
Jacobs said the innovation’s R&D processes focused “primarily on three main areas: ultrafine bubble production, characterization, and application testing.” The patented technology “technology to create ultrafine bubbles [is] based on principles of hydrodynamic cavitation (we call our unique bubbles Hydrosomes),” he explained, and “this technique allows us to produce ultrafine bubbles of a particular size and concentration with each production run.”
Further, he added, “our engineering team also continues to adapt our technology for custom applications which includes the modification of the gas type, size of the bubbles, and their concentration for maximum effect.”
To make the innovation work, Jacobs shared, “after the bubbles have been generated, they must be analyzed for their size, concentration, and stability,” which “is no small feat considering that ultrafine bubbles are very small, often less than 100 nm, and have a hollow gas core, making their detection even more difficult.” Therefore, he explained, “we have investigated numerous techniques and employ the latest analytical tools for ultrafine bubble detection and quantification to ensure the highest quality.”
He then shared that “once we have created a unique ultrafine bubble product, we must test it in a given application to verify its effectiveness,” and to do so, “with our patented technology, we can create ultrafine bubbles with remarkable longevity and shelf-life.” As a result, “this allows us to expand ultrafine technology to new application areas such as topicals, cosmetics, beverages, foods, and other consumer product staples,” he said.
Industry impact
Regarding the potential impact of Hydrosome’s breakthrough technology on cosmetics and personal care product manufacturing, Jacobs said that “the superior stability of Hydrosome Labs’ ultrafine bubble technology opens new and exciting possibilities for cosmetics and personal care products.” Because “these ultrafine bubbles can persist for long periods of time, over 18 months in some cases, we can assure that their effect will remain over the lifetime of the product they are in,” he explained.
“The key feature of Hydrosomes for cosmetics,” he continued, “is their ability to deliver key ingredients, nutrients, and water, at greater quantities, deeper into the skin.” This is “accomplished without the use of additional chemicals, surfactants, penetrating agents, or preservatives—just pure water with ultrafine bubbles.”
As a result, “this technology unlocks the potential to deliver active ingredients more effectively and may expand the use of ingredients that were previously overlooked due to their difficulty penetrating the skin or allow for the reduction or elimination of permeation enhancers, enabling cleaner formulations,” he said.
Hydrosomes in cosmetics and personal care are also a sustainable innovation, he added, as “there are no added chemicals, consumables or preservatives that are needed for Hydrosome Labs’ ultrafine bubble technology. In addition, he shared further, “the energy inputs to create the ultrafine bubbles are minimal and do not require special electrical inputs or modifications.”
Next steps for Hydrosome Labs
Moving forward, Jacobs said, “the Hydrosome Labs scientific team is always investigating new ways to adapt and modify our technology for applications in agriculture, consumer goods, fermentation, sanitation, and life sciences.” In the coming months, “our goal is to customize our ultrafine bubble technology to maximize the benefits of this new technology for our clients,” he explained, and “we are currently conducting extensive research into the area of precision fermentation, which is often used to make personal care ingredients.”
Precision fermentation is “a rapidly evolving industrial area where microorganisms are engineered to produce high-value molecules of interest like pharmaceuticals, fragrances, rare chemicals, and active ingredients, to name a few,” shared Jacobs. " Early results indicate that Hydrosome Labs’ technology may help increase growth rates of microorganisms, increase efficiencies, and overall product yields in this booming market.”
About Hydrosome Labs' future, Jacobs explained that “like other breakthrough technologies that have been discovered, we believe that we are only just beginning to identify the many ways our technology can be used to improve the performance of products and processes.” As a result, he concluded, “we look forward to working with new commercial partners to unlock its potential.”