SERT: Selective Enzyme Release Technology® fits well into the low irritation delivery rationale. Naturally occurring enzymes in skin rapidly hydrolyze esters, glycerides, glucoside ethers, and amide bonds releasing the two halves of the molecule. Sucrose esters, Polyglyceryl lactylates, Polyglyceryl laureates or stearates, phosphatidic or lysophosphatidic acids, lauroyl/ stearoyl lactylates or ascorbyl laurate all can be defined as biosurfactants. They can be produced with very low toxicities when compared to conventional surfactants such as SLS or Tween 20. They are all are short lived in the living environment because of hydrolysis to basic food groups: fats, sugars, amino acids or vitamins.
Bioactives such as ascorbic acid, tocopherol, gallic acid, lactic acid or oligopeptides can all be leashed to an appropriate fatty acid or fatty glyceride to produce a new more deliverable, stable pro-bioactive which under the conditions found in living tissue will be enzymatically hydrolyzed releasing its original components. If the "head" potion of the molecule is water soluble and the lipid "tail" carefully selected, a resulting bio-emulsifier or Omega 36 Bioester can be produced which will self assemble, dramatically helping with transdermal delivery. This is especially true if particle size can be reduced below 600 nanometers.
Many of the novel bioactives being synthesized and utilized in the OBI formulary are based on this rationale, put crudely: "if you can eat it-you don't have to secrete it". The process of deactivating or de-toxifying a man-made synthetic not found in nature requires the cell or in most cases the liver selecting an enzyme process that may only increase the toxicity or carcinogenicity of the compound. Ingredients capable of being converted to food groups eliminate this issue.
