This study addresses the increasing market demand for natural and environmentally friendly cosmetic formulations. Current trends favor responsible excipients derived from biosourced raw materials with eco-responsible exploitation and low-energy processing. A significant challenge exists in developing bio-based rheology modifiers with performance comparable to synthetic polymers like polyacrylates or polyacrylamides. While natural polymers such as hydrocolloids, polysaccharides, and proteins possess thickening and stabilizing properties, they often exhibit lower thickening power and formulation difficulties compared to petroleum-based polymers [1].

To bridge this gap, strategies are explored to improve the properties of natural polymers by modifying their chemical structure and therefore their properties in cosmetic formulations. Various academic studies deal with the chemical functionalization of natural polymers (cross-linking, grafting of different chemical moieties on the backbone) in order to improve some of their properties according to the final application.

The present work investigates the cross-linking of polysaccharides using environmentally friendly reactants and processes. A novel method of chemical cross-linking that enables the isolation of the functionalized biopolymer in a highly concentrated powder form (exceeding 90%) is presented, thereby enhancing its applicability for cosmetic formulations. Furthermore, the functionalized biopolymer presents good thickening properties and is readily biodegradable.

The impact of various process parameters on the final product properties is examined.