Clay minerals: Properties and applications to dermocosmetic products and perspectives of natural raw materials for therapeutic purposes-A review

Clay minerals are layered materials with a number of peculiar properties, which find many relevant applications in various industries. Since they are easily found everywhere, they are particularly attractive due to their economic viability. In the cosmetic industry, clay minerals are often used as excipients to stabilize emulsions or suspensions and to modify the rheological behavior of these systems. They also play an important role as adsorbents or absorbents, not only in cosmetics but also in other industries, such as pharmaceuticals. This reviewer believes that since this manuscript is presented as covering topical applications that include pharmaceuticals, some types of clay minerals should be considered as a potential material to be used as drug delivery systems. We review several applications of clay minerals to dermocosmetic products, relating them to the underlying properties of these materials and exemplifying with a number of clay minerals available in the market. We also discuss the use of clay minerals in topically-applied products for therapeutic purposes, specially for skin treatment and protection.CAPES (Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior)Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Grad Program Translat Med, Med Dept, Rua Pedro Toledo,720-2 Floor, BR-01039032 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilNacl Univ Cordoba, Inst Phys Enrique Gaviola, Av Haya Torre S-N, Cordoba, ArgentinaUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Grad Program Mat Sci Engn, Rua Talim 330, BR-12231280 Sao Jose Dos Campos, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Campinas, UNICAMP, Inst Geosci, Rua Joao Pandi Calogeras 51, BR-13083870 Campinas, SP, BrazilUniv Vale Itajai, Grad Program Pharmaceut Sci, Nucl Chem Pharmaceut Invest, Rua Uruguai,458 Ctr, BR-88302202 Itajai, SC, BrazilUniv Estadual Campinas, UNICAMP, Fac Pharmaceut Sci, Rua Candido Portinari 200, BR-13083859 Campinas, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Grad Program Translat Med, Med Dept, Rua Pedro Toledo,720-2 Floor, BR-01039032 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Grad Program Mat Sci Engn, Rua Talim 330, BR-12231280 Sao Jose Dos Campos, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc