Non-toxic, regenerative, economical, ecological—provided that the resource used to make them is responsibly managed—vegetable oils allow for the extraction of many bio-active molecules in plants, and could become emblematic solvents for green chemistry. They contain a complex mix of apolar (hydrophobic) and partially polar (hydrophile) compounds which make it possible to solubilize lipophile or hydrophile molecules of interest for cosmetics (anti-oxidants, pigments, etc.).

The researchers from VECT'OLEO studied a model system comprised of methyl esters (solvent, oil model), bio-sourced extracting molecules used in the formulation of cosmetics (PG3DS), and water. Beam diffusion techniques and HPC molecular dynamics simulations have demonstrated that the extractant molecules (PG3DS) strengthen the oil's pre-existing structure, from the molecular to the supramolecular scale. In this way, they can optimize the extraction and dispersion yields for bio-active compounds that come from leaves or flowers, to create a new generation of cosmetic products, the Oleoboosters®.