VARUNÉ Bio | Formulation Decision Brief — illustrative example

Illustrative decision brief · public data, hypothetical buyer question

QUESTION
A formulation team is considering a polymer change. Can a higher published storage modulus, G′, tell it which ingredient to choose?

OBSERVATION
At 10 rad/s and 25 °C, the two source specimens have different measured G′ values. G′ describes the elastic part of the oscillatory response at the stated conditions.

Carbopol 2 g/L (Ultrez-21, Lubrizol)
G′: 262.07 Pa; angular frequency: 10 rad/s; measured strain: 1.01%; temperature: 25 °C.
Method: Roughened PP50/P2 parallel plates; MCR 302.
Source: freqsweep_carbopol.csv, physical CSV line 23. SHA-256: 865cf9c47add24491a6a819473c56dcb1308de30a00b6b0a1cba7a6823787d3e

Dove Essential Care Body Lotion (Unilever), source specimen
G′: 174.93 Pa; angular frequency: 10 rad/s; measured strain: 1.01%; temperature: 25 °C.
Method: Roughened PP50/P2 parallel plates; MCR 302.
Source: freqsweep_dove.csv, physical CSV line 23. SHA-256: 6017702a833e62f89bb0c2fde90360fed346a9cfcb693339ee28b244912707aa

INTERPRETATION
This comparison does not isolate an ingredient effect. A microgel and a finished body lotion differ in composition and preparation. These two rows cannot establish which ingredient would improve the buyer’s formula.

DECISION
Keep the ingredient decision open. Define the actual candidate, incumbent and application requirement before commissioning a comparison.

PROPOSED NEXT COMPARISON
With a qualified technical reviewer, agree candidate and incumbent preparations in a relevant formulation base, a justified measurement regime, independent preparations and an acceptance criterion tied to the application. If the question concerns a dried film, add an appropriate film endpoint; bulk rheology alone does not answer it.

INPUTS FOR A REAL BRIEF
Intended use, candidate and incumbent grades, available preparation records, practical constraints and the decision the evidence must support.

LIMITS
External measurements, not VARUNÉ Bio experimental results or a completed client brief. No uncertainty or independent replicate count is inferred from these rows. No skin benefit, water-retention effect, current product specification or ingredient superiority is established.

ATTRIBUTION
Woodbridge, Juel and Pereira Da Fonte (2025). https://figshare.manchester.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Rheological_Characterisation_of_a_Carbopol_Microgel_and_a_Commercial_Body_Lotion_Steady_Oscillatory_and_Parallel_Superposition_Measurements/29376416
DOI: 10.48420/29376416.v1. CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Selected observations reproduced; decision framing and interpretation by VARUNÉ Bio. Source files rechecked 2026-10-20.

Discuss a non-confidential question: https://varunebio.com/collaboration?type=rd&from=BIO-S01

Proposed offer. Scope, qualified review, delivery capacity, fees and timing must be agreed before work begins.