Composite Hydrogel Structure for Fast Cosmetic Disintegration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cosmetic hydrogels with high gel strength are difficult to crush on the palm, leading to slow disintegration, and reducing gel strength through moisture or oil addition introduces unnecessary components.
Innovation Solution
A hydrogel structure comprising a continuous phase of a first hydrogel and a dispersion phase of a second hydrogel, with a specific mass ratio and breaking load ratio, allowing for excellent disintegration properties while maintaining storage stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the gel strength of the hydrogel is increased, then the storage stability is improved, but the disintegration speed deteriorates (becomes slow)
Solution Approach 1:
The hydrogel is segmented into a composite structure consisting of a continuous phase and dispersed hydrogel particles. This segmentation allows the continuous phase to provide structural stability while the dispersed particles facilitate disintegration, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining gel strength and achieving rapid disintegration.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite hydrogel material combining a continuous phase with dispersed hydrogel particles. This composite structure enables the material to simultaneously exhibit high gel strength for storage stability and rapid disintegration properties, as the dispersed particles create internal weak points that facilitate breakdown while the continuous phase maintains overall structural integrity.
2Productivity
If the gel strength is decreased to improve disintegration, then the disintegration speed is improved, but unnecessary components (moisture or oil) must be added
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the disintegration function from the bulk hydrogel structure and concentrates it in the dispersed hydrogel particles. This allows the continuous phase to maintain high gel strength without unnecessary additives, while the dispersed particles provide the disintegration mechanism through their specific composition and structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The hydrogel structure exhibits local quality differentiation where the continuous phase provides high gel strength and the dispersed particles provide disintegration functionality. This local specialization allows each phase to perform its specific function optimally without requiring unnecessary components throughout the entire system.
3Productivity
If the content of the dispersion phase is increased to improve disintegration, then the disintegration speed is improved, but the storage stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention optimizes the content parameter of the dispersion phase within a specific range (5-80 mass %) to achieve the balance between disintegration speed and storage stability. By precisely controlling this parameter, the system achieves rapid disintegration while maintaining adequate storage stability, demonstrating the importance of parameter optimization in resolving technical contradictions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The hydrogel structure achieves rapid disintegration with maintained stability, suitable for cosmetic products, by incorporating a dispersion phase within a continuous phase with controlled gel agent composition and particle size.
Implementation Method 1
gelling the first aqueous gel agent solution
Implementation Method 2
dispersing hydrogel particles that become the dispersion phase of the second hydrogel in an aqueous first gel agent solution
Data Source
AI summary
A hydrogel structure (10) includes: a continuous phase (11) of a first hydrogel; and a dispersion phase (12) of a second hydrogel, the dispersion phase being dispersed in the continuous phase (11). A ratio of a local minimum value of a load after break to a breaking load (a local minimum value of a load after break/a breaking load) of the hydrogel structure (10) is 0.1 or more.