Purdue visiting scholar to market face cream at Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna
March 12, 2015
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German Schäfer, a visiting scholar in Purdue's Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, has developed a revitalizing skin cream from plants native to Colombia. Schäfer will market the product March 20-23 at Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna in Italy at the ProColombia exhibition space. (Purdue Research Foundation photo) |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., MEDELLIN, Colombia, BOLOGNA, Italy - A visiting scholar in Purdue University's Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering will introduce an all-natural face cream March 20-23 at Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna, the world's largest cosmetics convention.
German Schäfer, a doctoral candidate in chemical engineering at Universidad de Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia, developed the Idona revitalizing face cream from native plants for the startup BioProcol, which he founded.
"My colleagues and I conducted research into the fruits from a variety of plants, and we discovered important molecules that could have applications in several industries including cosmetics, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and veterinary products," he said. "BioProcol is looking to create the best applications for skin care and beauty products from these ingredients."
Schäfer is refining the Idona revitalizing face cream at Purdue with Michael Ladisch, distinguished professor of agricultural and biological engineering and director of the Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering.
"Karl Wood and Arlene Rothwell in the Campus-Wide Mass Spectrometry Center performed liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the product to characterize its composition, and it came out very similar to German's result in Colombia," Ladisch said. "German and his work fit in well at Purdue, where innovators are encouraged to think about using their discoveries not only for scientific communication, but also to translate it into products for people around the world."
Schäfer will attend Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna with ProColombia, a government agency that promotes non-traditional Colombian exports, foreign investment in Colombia and international tourism. ProColombia will have an exhibition space at the conference, Piazza della Costituzione - 40128, Bologna.
"Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna is the biggest and best cosmetics show in the world. Attendees include not only ingredient producers but also packagers, final product producers and distributors," he said. "It is an honor to attend the conference with ProColombia and bring Colombia's biodiversity and industries to the world's attention."
Schäfer is working with business experts at the Purdue Foundry to evaluate the best path to introduce, transfer, distribute and commercialize BioProcol's products and technologies in the United States. Purdue Foundry is an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub in Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship on the Purdue campus.
"It is a great place to network and find the right people to answer questions. It creates a dynamic entrepreneurial environment that stimulates and fosters an entrepreneur's creativity," he said. "We are exploring the best funding strategies and actions to create a second location for the business at the Purdue Research Park."
About Purdue Foundry
The Purdue Foundry is an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub in Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship whose professionals help Purdue innovators create startups. The Purdue Foundry is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2014 Incubator Network of the Year from the National Business Incubation Association for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org
Sources: German Schäfer, 201-313-6573, gschafer@bioprocol.com
Michael Ladisch, 765-494-7022, ladisch@purdue.edu
Writer: Steve Martin, 765-588-3342, sgmartin@prf.org
