HOME
Conventional preservatives in water-based personal care products—such as parabens and formaldehyde-releasing systems—can effectively control microbes but often raise concerns about long-term exposure, endocrine disruption, and broader impacts on human and environmental health. This project asks how we might instead design antimicrobials that protect products while also creating conditions conducive to life.
The emerging concept draws on strategies form organisms like African clawed frog, human defensins, and saffron and envisions life-friendly antimicrobials that selectively disrupt microbial membranes while minimizing collateral harm to surrounding systems.
The concept demonstrates how biological strategies can open new pathways for safer, life-friendly preservation systems.