Korea's COSMAX Partners with Pohang Accelerator Laboratory to Use Synchrotron Radiation Accelerator for Cosmetics R&D

COSMAX, a global cosmetics ODM company, announced on the 18th that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL) in Korea to conduct cosmetics R&D using advanced scientific and technological infrastructure such as the synchrotron radiation accelerator.

At the MOU signing ceremony held at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, COSMAX Group Chairman Lee Kyung-soo (left) poses with PAL Director Kim Jae-young. / Photo provided by COSMAX

According to reports, the Pohang Synchrotron Radiation Accelerator (PLS-II) operated by the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory generates light more than 10 billion times brighter than sunlight, enabling atomic-scale analysis of nanoscale material structures. Currently, the facility has been used for microstructural research across multiple industrial fields, including new drugs, semiconductors, and new materials.

COSMAX has previously utilized the Pohang Synchrotron Radiation Accelerator to develop skin delivery technologies for basic skincare products, including liposomes, lipid nanoparticles, and liquid crystal emulsions. The company expects sales related to skin delivery systems to reach approximately KRW 100 billion this year, a significant increase from approximately KRW 6 billion in 2021.

The related R&D outcomes have also received technology awards. In 2021, COSMAX won the IR52 Jang Young-sil Award for cosmetics based on a ceramide skin delivery system; in 2024, the company won the award again for cosmetics applying cationic liposome technology. During the development of the award-winning technology in 2021, COSMAX used the Pohang Synchrotron Radiation Accelerator for X-ray structural analysis to study cosmetic particle structures and the interaction between ceramides and the skin.

Under this agreement, the two parties will expand the scope of joint research from basic skincare products to sunscreens, color cosmetics, and hair care products, and establish a mechanism for ongoing collaboration. Key research directions include the nanostructures of skin delivery carriers such as liposomes, structural changes in the skin and cosmetic films after application of sunscreens and color cosmetics, hair structure, and cosmetic material structures.

COSMAX stated that this collaboration will help observe cosmetic microstructures that have been difficult to analyze in the past, as well as changes in the skin and hair after product use, and apply these insights to the development of new formulations and new products. The two parties also plan to continue exploring additional applications of the synchrotron radiation accelerator in cosmetics research.

COSMAX Group Chairman Lee Kyung-soo stated that this MOU aims to further integrate the strengths of both parties, consolidate existing collaboration outcomes, and apply synchrotron radiation accelerator research to the cosmetics field, providing a stronger scientific foundation for Korea's beauty industry. PAL Director Kim Jae-young stated that the two parties will promote the systematic application of the synchrotron radiation accelerator in the cosmetics industry, facilitating the integration of basic scientific infrastructure with industrial innovation.