Toagosei Annual R&D Report “TREND” – Issue No. 12

In recent years, silsesquioxane has attracted attention as a new silicon-based material 1). Silsesquioxane is a siloxane compound whose main chain backbone consists of Si-O bonds. It is represented by the composition formula (RSiO1.5)n. It is referred to as “sil-sesqui-oxane” because it is a siloxane with 1.5 (1.5 = sesqui) oxygen atoms in its unit composition formula. A well-known siloxane-based compound is polysiloxane, also known as silicone (unit composition formula: R2SiO), a representative organosilicon polymer. Silica (unit composition formula: SiO2), an inorganic compound, is another typical compound consisting of siloxane bonds. As can be seen by comparing these composition formulas, silsesquioxane can be regarded as an intermediate substance between silicone and silica.

In recent years, the number of people suffering from allergic diseases such as hay fever caused by cedar pollen, allergic rhinitis caused by house dust ascribed to mites, and atopic dermatitis has increased rapidly and become a serious problem. When allergens, the substances that cause allergic symptoms, enter the body, they usually react with antibodies against the allergen, causing mast cells to release histamine, which in turn causes itching and inflammation. Although anti-allergic agents and topical steroids have been developed to treat these diseases, they are only symptomatic and not curative. Therefore, in order to reduce the symptoms of allergic diseases or to reduce new sensitization, the allergens must be removed from the living space before they are inhaled into the human body, or denatured and rendered harmless. This article introduces AlleRemove ZTP-170, a new type of anti-allergen agent we have developed to address this issue (Fig. 1).