Applied Surfactant Science for Personal Care and Home Care Applications

Samiul Amin

Course description

This course’s primary focus is developing fundamental principles of surfactant science that are necessary for formulating and optimizing personal care and home care products based on surfactants. Attendees will gain an in-depth understanding of the physico-chemical properties required for optimizing key performance criteria, such as emulsification, cleansing, and foaming.

The course will delve into surfactant self-assembly processes, including key microstructures such as wormlike micelles and lamellar gel phases, to build an understanding of the linkages between microstructure, property, and performance.

This course will cover the optimization of surfactant-based formulations for various products, including facial cleansers, shampoos, conditioners, and home care products. Practical case studies and simulations will be provided to allow attendees to apply their newfound knowledge. One area of focus will be on biosurfactants.

The course will include a workshop where participants can collaborate to brainstorm formulation challenges for sustainable alternatives like biosurfactants. They will develop experimental programs to mitigate risk by utilizing principles learned in the course.

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the basic principles of fundamental surfactant science and surfactant properties required to optimize key performance criteria-cleansing, foaming, emulsification
• Describe surfactant self-assembly and properties and performance of various surfactant microstructures-wormlike micelles, lamellar gel phases
• List the viscosity and rheology controlling mechanisms in various surfactant microstructures
• Review surfactant interactions with polymers and other formulation materials
• Explain the advanced characterization techniquesrequired to establish structure-property-performance links in surfactant-based
  products