1. Marine polysaccharides and cosmetic applications

Anthony COURTOIS, President, Polymaris Biotechnology, Morlaix

Jean GUEZENNEC, Scientific Consultant, AiMB (Advices in Marine Biotechnology), Plouzané

Thanks to their various properties, bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPS) have potential applications in a wide range of industrial sectors. This search for EPS is the result of a long process involving the following stages: i) building up a collection of micro-organisms, ii) screening, iii) laboratory production, iv) physico-chemical and biological characterization, and v) transfer to industrial scale. Cosmetics is one of the sectors in constant demand for new biopolymers. A number of marine EPS have already found applications with various players in the cosmetics industry.