G. Stijfs, D. Langos
In the evolving landscape of laundry care, innovation continues to be shaped by consumer expectations for convenience, performance, sustainability, and affordability. Within fabric care, performance is strongly linked to sensory perception: laundry that looks clean and smells fresh is perceived as cleaner by consumers. As a result, fragrance performance and visible cleaning efficacy remain important drivers for formulation development.
At the same time, formulators are increasingly challenged to balance high performance with raw material efficiency and cost optimization. Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) is a naturally derived and readily biodegradable cellulose material designed to enhance formulation performance while maintaining cost-effectiveness. Owing to its highly branched fibre morphology, MFC enables homogeneous structuring and distribution of active ingredients and particles throughout the formulation. This reduces agglomeration and improves the efficiency of individual particles. [1]
This performance-enhancing effect of MFC was evaluated in a fabric care system containing encapsulated fragrances. Fragrance release performance was determined using analytical measurement techniques following a simulated domestic wash procedure. Fabric samples were subjected to a commercially representative wash cycle, line dried and then analyzed over three consecutive days.
Results demonstrated an approximately twofold increase in the release performance of selected top-note fragrance compounds when deposited in the presence of MFC compared to the control formulation. Enhanced fragrance release was consistently observed across all evaluated time points.
Further investigations will focus on the influence of MFC dosage levels on fragrance deposition and release performance, as well as the applicability of the observed effect across a broader range of fragrance capsule technologies.
