Plant-based exosomes: Incospharm uses innovative filtration technique to develop develop CICA-, dragon fruit-derived exosomes

South Korean ingredients firm Incospharm has observed increasing interest in exosomes, particularly from its European customers.

Dr Jeong Sekyoo, director and chief technical officer at Incospharm, told CosmeticsDesign-Asia that brands and consumers were searching increasingly for “high-tech” solutions in skin care, and exosome seemed like the ideal candidate to do so.

Exosomes are nano-sized extracellular vesicles secreted by various types of cells, including stem cells. They play a key role in intercellular communication by transferring proteins, lipids, and genetic material between cells.

The use of exosomes in areas such as oncology has sparked interest in their use for cosmetic applications. Exosomes are widely used in the medical aesthetics field​, which has become a major source of inspiration for cosmetic product development.

Furthermore, there is increasing research into plant-based exosomes for cosmetics use “due to safety issues and some regulatory aspects related to stem cells”, Jeong added. This has been made possible with advancements in technology.

“There are many ways to acquire exosomes from plants. One of our technical advancements is that we developed a new exosome isolation technique:​ electrophoretic oscillation-assisted tangential flow filtration (EPOTF).”​

Groundbreaking filtration technique

Incospharm developed this method in collaboration with South Korean firm Metapore Inc, and South Korean university, Kookmin University.

The researchers solved a major pain point with tangent flow-driven ultrafiltration (TF-UF) – the accumulation of sediments on the filters. The solution was to oscillate the filter plates rapidly to remove any clogging, thereby improving filtration and overall efficiency.

The development was featured on the May 2023 cover​ of the ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces journal.

“With EPOTF, we can efficiently collect exosomes. Using this technology, we were able to explore the kinds of exosomes that we can develop,” said Jeong.

The firm recently debuted a range of 10 plant-based exosomes derived from plants and fruits such as Centella asiatica, dragon fruit, perilla leaf, mangoes, lemons, and cucumber. These are available in liquid and freeze-dried formats.

Each of the exosomes was found to have specific properties and efficacies.

“For centella asiatica, we found that it can reduce the cellular synthesis in ageing cells and also protect oxidative stress and also melanin synthesis,” Jeong said.

He added that the firm will continue to study these ingredients. “We are planning to do some more experiments to validate their bio-efficacies using our human skin models and then compare to the efficacy.”

Furthermore, the company can use EPOTF to develop custom exosomes for customers.

“We already have this technology, so if the client wants their own fruits or vegetables or plants, we can make it,” said Jeong.