Oils, fats innovation: Use of nanotechnology in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals

A Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) lecturer, Professor Dr Mahiran Basri, not only succeeded in producing new useful substances made of oils and fats for the industry, but also managed to produce them through environmental-friendly ways.

"This organic synthesis uses enzymes and it is produced through nanotechnology. Our focus is to process new substances derived from oils and fats," she said in an interview at her office.

In the field of cosmetics, for instance, she said there are antioxidants and anti-aging substances, through the use of nanotechnology, those substances can easily absorb through the skin.

This way, they would be more effective, she added.

"What is also important is that the materials are clean and safe," said the winner of the Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) for Science and Technology 2014 award, which was held in Rabat, Morocco, in December.

Professor Mahiran said in pharmaceuticals, an innovation has successfully produced a drugs delivery method to penetrate the 'blood brain barrier', especially for diseases that are associated with the brain, such as Alzheimer, Parkinson, epilepsy and meningitis.

"Drugs are normally hard to [make] reach beyond the 'blood brain barrier'. Thus we created drugs through nanotechnology, and that way we hope they are more effective," she said.

She added, the innovation has been tested on animals and there were visible positive effects.

Meanwhile, in the agro-chemcial field, Professor Mahiran said, the formulation was made in a nano form to kill weeds and also perform as a cleaning agent to the environment, thus improve the development of the agricultural industry.