FABRIZIO FRANCOMANO1*, FRANCESCO PUOCI1,2
*Corresponding author
1. Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutrition Sciences, University of Calabria, Italy
2. Macrofarm s.r.l., Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutrition Sciences, University of Calabria, Italy

Abstract

The most common deodorants contain molecules which may have detrimental effects on human health. For this reason, new products, with the function of deodorants, are required. Considering the current knowledges about the chemistry of malodours, we describe the rationale of a new approach for the development of deodorants based on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), prepared by polymerization in the presence of the template molecules, that are the compounds that need to be recognized (or analogous molecules), precisely the molecules responsible for malodours.

INTRODUCTION
A group of cosmetic products used on a daily basis is represented by deodorants, utilized to mask malodours, which act by reducing or removing bad smells and blocking sweating and bacterial growth. The most common deodorants contain aluminium (1) (aluminium chlorohydrate (ACH), aluminium bromohydrate, aluminium chloride, aluminium sulphate, sodium aluminium chlorohydroxy lactate, potassium or aluminium alum, aluminium trichlorohydrex gly)(2) and zirconium salts (1) (such as aluminium zirconium trichlorohydrex GLY) (2), used to block sweat ducts, temporarily preventing sweating, and the antimicrobial parabens, the esters of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, which are suspected to be involved in breast cancer (3), due to their effect of endocrine disruptor, particularly at the level of estrogens (4). In addition, aluminium is neurotoxic and cause skin irritation (5).

Moreover, the classic formulations of deodorants involve alcohols and antimicrobial agents (such as triclosan, cetrimonium bromide, cetylpyridinium chloride, benzethonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, sodium and potassium N‐laurylsarcosine, sodium N‐polymethylsar ...