gjbroom@watsol.waterloo.edu (Gord Broom) (04/12/88)
Reprinted from The Globe and Mail, Thursday March 31, 1988
[without permission, of course]
TO KISS OFF CHAPPED LIPS
Imagine a lipstick that moisturized every time its wearer
puckered up, or a foot powder that provided more antifungal relief with
every step.
These are two of many applications now possible with
microsponges, microscopic synthetic spheres that can be ``programmed''
to release cosmetic or pharmaceutical agents in response to pressure,
time or temperature.
Patented last year by Advanced Polymer Systems Inc. of Redwood
City, Calif., microsponges are porous and contain huge networks of
interconnected tunnels and surface areas that can be filled with fluids.
A microsponge of one-thousanth of an inch in diameter contains 10 feet
of interconnected pores, yet 120 million of them weigh just 1/28th of an
ounce.
The sponges are now reaching the market in cosmetics products,
including an anti-wrinkle cream for men from Estee Lauder Inc. and a
moisturizing aftershave from Richardson-Vicks Inc. Advanced has also
signed agreements with Sterling Drug Inc. for development of
non-prescription medical and skin treatments, and with Scott Paper Co.
for eight products, including wet wipe towels containing various agents.
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