Better skincare

Micropore's patented technology is capable of producing the high quality creams and lotions required in the demanding environment of the cosmetic, fragrance and skincare industries.  Even high viscosity ingredients can be mixed using our technology. This enables highly reliable and totally reproducible production of batches of specialist materials. In demanding production environments there is no issue of 'bad batches' or material wastage. Our processes are designed to be scalable - from laboratory formulation testing to production tonnages. This enables meaningful laboratory data to be used to scale a process to production scale.
The Micropore equipment is 100% stainless steel and can be run at elevated temperatures. Our equipment is fully enclosed and capable of exceptional mixing for fragrances and other active ingredients. An added benefit is our equipment is easy to control and has a small footprint.  Microencapsulation is a valuable process for cosmetics, fragrance and skincare, protecting delicate and expensive oils, vitamins and other materials from degradation, maximising their effectiveness and stability, whilst providing controlled release at the desired point of use. Microencapsulation can effectively extend the shelf life of products. 

Advantages:

• Targeted delivery, controlled release.
• Allows formulation with ingredients that are usually incompatible.
• Flavour/Fragrance delivery.
• Incorporation of oil based actives into clear aqueous systems.
• Higher loading of active than traditional encapsulation methods, such as spray drying.
• Enhanced visual aesthetic appeal and marketing claims.
• Multifunctional delivery - Vitamins, botanical actives.

​We are happy to work with our clients to either provide emulsions, particles or microcapsules, or provide you with the equipment to produce them on your own sites. At Micropore we specialise in various processes including microencapsulation via complex coacervation, manufacture of hydrogel microbeads and other systems, contact us to learn more. 
Aseptic/cGMP:
Aseptic/cGMP designs for production are available.
Scalable:
Micropore's processes are designed to be scalable - from laboratory formulation testing to production tonnages. This enables meaningful laboratory data to be used to scale a process to production volumes.
​Low shear:
The low shear and gentle conditions used during membrane emulsification are ideal to prevent damage to sensitive active ingredients.
We have expertise in working with companies seeking to replace some less attractive emulsifying agents, e.g. polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR), with more environmentally desirable ones, that need lower shear, provide greater stability and good control during processing.​

Release Profile:
We provide a service to develop the best release profile for your ingredients and products; using our expertise in encapsulation and formulation technology based on our membrane emulsification processes.
Energy:
The Micropore patented manufacturing techniques provide uniform droplets and particles and lead to 100% production success in the desired size range. There is no waste compared to conventional manufacturing techniques. Using Micropore technology results in significantly lower energy and waste disposal costs.
Reliability and Reproducibility:
Micropore’s technology enables highly reliable and reproducible production of batches of materials. Our techniques lead to no 'bad batches’ to be disposed of.
Easy Control:
The Micropore systems are easy to control and do not require time consuming and costly specialist operator training.
Materials of construction:
Micropore production equipment is constructed from a minimum number of broad compatibility materials, to simplify validation. For example the standard AXF-1 is made from dual certified316/316L stainless steel with Virgin PTFE seals.  Electropolished parts and industry standard hygienic fittings tailor the AXF for cosmetic industry use.
Footprint:
The system is easy to control and has a lower factory space requirement than conventional stirred tank technology.  

Fragrances, Flavourings & Food case study

The Challenge
Traditional homogenisation techniques provide a wide particle size distribution. This can affect the mechanical properties of the finished microcapsules, causing larger capsules to break too easily and  smaller capsules not to break at all. This has cost and performance implications, so has to be constantly measured during production.
The Solution and Benefits
Instead of traditional homogenisation equipment, Micropore’s patented membrane emulsification technology was used to produce complex coacervate microcapsules for encapsulating essential fragrance oils.
The customer needed complete control of the resulting particle size in order to achieve 100% product within the desired size range. For each application, the microcapsule specifications had target mean diameters ranging from 10µm to 1mm. By changing process parameters to meet the various target size requirements, the membrane emulsification approach greatly improved the particle size distributions for each product in the range.
Whilst this process was initially used to manufacture fragrances, it has since been successfully used in food and flavouring production.

One of the business challenges was to lower the operating costs associated with the constant need for measurement and analysis during production. This was achieved due to the unique Micropore metal membrane which has a very regular array of fine pores with a tightly specified diameter and no internal channels, which results in zero fouling.
How we can help you​
Micropore excels at evaluating complex challenges and finding creative, sustainable and scalable solutions.
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Although initially sceptical due to inconclusive results using membrane technology in the past, the Micropore results quickly surpassed our expectations and delivered a viable alternative to our previous production methods’’
Customer: Fragrance sector

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​​Working with Micropore was a very positive experience for us.
​The speed with which we progressed reflects how user-friendly we found the Micropore equipment.

CUSTOMER, FOOD SECTOR

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​We have achieved significantly improved production economics. We were initially sceptical as we had had problems when we’d tried membrane emulsification in the past.  Micropore has developed a truly elegant solution

CUSTOMER, HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS

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​​We set aside a day for trials on the Micropore AXF-1.  We were finished in less than an hour with all trials completed satisfactorily.  We were surprised at how simple Micropore’s equipment is to set up and operate

CUSTOMER, FRAGRANCE SECTOR

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​​Micropore’s precision engineered products mean we don’t have problems with creaming or phase inversion any more.  We are working to convert manufacture of all our products to Micropore’s approach because of the ease of operation/cleaning and improved yields

CUSTOMER, PERSONAL CARE SECTOR

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We approached Micropore after failing with others because we needed to replicate an in-flight problem.  Micropore delivered everything we hoped for and more.  The result was we were able to engineer a solution for major safety improvements and rapid implementation

CUSTOMER, AEROSPACE SECTOR

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