Category Archives: beauty and cosmetics

Future cosmetics could contain fish guts

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A September 6, 2024 news item on ScienceDaily features information that might be considered disconcerting,

There are some pretty strange ingredients in cosmetics and skin care products. One example is snail mucin — also known as snail slime — which is used for its moisturizing and antioxidant properties [emphasis mine]. But researchers reporting in ACS [American Chemical Society] Omega might have found something even weirder to put on your face: molecules made by fish gut bacteria. In cultured cells, the compounds had skin-brightening and anti-wrinkle properties, making them potential ingredients for your future skin care routine.

Snail slime? Well, if you’re going to use snail slime, then why not use fish guts? This September 5, 2024 ACS (American Chemical Society) news release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, explains the reasoning behind using fish guts in cosmetics and provides a few technical details, Note: A link has been removed,

Though fish guts might seem like the absolute last place to look for cosmetic compounds, it’s not a completely far-fetched idea. Many important drugs have been found in bizarre places — famously, penicillin’s antibiotic properties were discovered after a failed experiment got moldy. More recently, the brain cancer drug candidate Marizomib was derived from microbes unearthed in marine sediments at the bottom of the ocean. Two potentially untapped sources of new compounds could be the gut microbes of the red seabream and the blackhead seabream, fish found in the western Pacific Ocean. Although these microbes were first identified in 1992 and 2016, respectively, no studies have been performed on the compounds they make. So, Hyo-Jong Lee and Chung Sub Kim wanted to see if these bacteria produce any metabolite compounds that could have cosmetic benefits.

The team identified 22 molecules made by the gut bacteria of the red seabream and blackhead seabream. They then evaluated each compound’s ability to inhibit tyrosinase and collagenase enzymes in lab-grown mouse cells. (Tyrosinase is involved in melanin production, which causes hyperpigmentation in aging skin. Collagenase breaks down the structural protein collagen, causing wrinkles.) Three molecules from the red seabream bacteria inhibited both enzymes the best without damaging the cells, making them promising anti-wrinkle and skin-brightening agents for future cosmetic products.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Marine Biotechnology Program of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Technology Development Program of the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups, Sungkyunkwan University and the BK21 FOUR program of the Ministry of Education of Korea.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Collagenase and Tyrosinase Inhibitory Compounds from Fish Gut Bacteria Ruegeria atlantica and Pseudoalteromonas neustonica by Jonghwan Kim, Su Jung Hwang, Gyu Sung Lee, Ju Ryeong Lee, Hye In An, Hong Sik Im, Minji Kim, Sang-Seob Lee, Hyo Jong Lee and Chung Sub Kim. ACS Omega Vol 9/Issue 32 34259 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c09585 Published: July 29, 2024 Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.

This paper is open access. This publication is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Enhance sunscreen without harming the environment by using octopus and squid pigments

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These days it seems experts are encouraging people wear sunscreen all year round. Anyway, that’s my excuse for claiming that this is a timely announcement, from a July 22, 2024 news item on phys.org,

When Northeastern [Northeastern University; Boston, Massachusetts] graduate Camille Martin and associate professor Leila Deravi co-founded Seaspire, a skincare ingredients company inspired by pigment in octopus and squid, their goal was to create a product that is good for your skin and the environment.

New research shows that they are on the right track.

…

A July 19, 2024 Northeastern University news release by Cynthia McCormick Hibbert, which originated the news item, reveals more about the research, Note: Links have been removed,

A paper published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science says that Xanthochrome, a synthesized version of a molecule found in cephalopods such as squid, octopus and cuttlefish, boosts levels of sunscreen protection in combination with zinc oxide while having no adverse effects on coral cuttings.

The marine safety findings are important because “there’s a lot of toxicities involved with (traditional) UV filters in sunscreens,” says Deravi, who is Seaspire’s scientific adviser and an associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology.

“Some of the chemical UV-filters in particular are known to create reactive oxygen species that are not only bad for the environment but can also seep into our skin and cause systemic toxicities,” she says.

The result is a pressing need for environmentally friendly ingredients, says Martin, who got her Ph.D. in chemistry from Northeastern in 2019 and has served as Seaspire’s CEO since its founding that year.

“The industry is really excited about new materials innovations,” she says. “Everything we do as a biotechnology company is centered around leveraging marine animals as a source of inspiration for the next generation of skin care ingredients.”

From lab to market

The goal of Seaspire, Martin says, is to make Xanthochrome available to skin care product manufacturers and distributors up and down the supply chain so that it ends up in a wide range of ski care and personal care products including sunscreens, anti-aging applications and functional color cosmetics.

“We are just wrapping up the research and development on it now and actively looking for partnerships to bring this to market,” Deravi says.

Produced as a brown, textured powder, Xanthochrome has potent antioxidant and skin restorative properties as well as having light scattering qualities that provide protection against photoaging, Martin and Deravi say.

Martin says Xanthochrome is the trade name for a chemically synthesized version of xanthommatin, which is found in the skin of cuttlefish, octopus and squid and in insects as well.

“The secret to the cephalopods’ unique coloration is derived from its multifunctional chemical compounds, which we identified in our lab at Northeastern,” Deravi says.

“Camille’s Ph.D. work was the first to show that these small molecules inside cephalopod skin that contribute to camouflage in the animal also have really interesting antioxidant properties,” Deravi says.

“They’re free radical scavengers, which are very important for skin health and skin barrier function,” she says.

“And then they also have pretty important optical properties protecting against exposure to sunlight, which is the main function of some UV filters and sunscreens,” Deravi says.

“We didn’t create a new molecule,” Martin says. “We were able to isolate and characterize the properties of the biomolecules found within cephalopods, engineer a bio-identical version of the naturally occurring material and position Xanthochrome as a new active ingredient that provides a wide range of skin care benefits.”

“It’s a really interesting space where you have a single molecule that can have so many functions,” she says.

Previous research showed Xanthochrome, unlike the parabens that often go into sunscreens, is not an endocrine disruptor.

The most recent study shows that it boosts the ultraviolet protection of zinc oxide, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers a safe and effective ingredient in sunscreen, by 28% and the blocking potential of visible light by 45%.

It also showed Xanthochrome did not have an adverse effect on coral cuttings even at concentrations five times higher than what are used in typical formulations.

Martin and Deravi hope that skincare product manufacturers see Xanthochrome as a next-generation ingredient on the heels of retinoids and vitamin C and hyaluronic acid.

“We’re creating products that can really be applied and adopted across a wide range of users,” Martin says. “We are creating something that is not only safe for all people, but also the environment.”

“You have to prove the new raw materials are safe for humans and also for the ocean, where ultimately every product is going to get washed into,” Deravi says.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Using cephalopod-inspired chemistry to extend long-wavelength ultraviolet and visible light protection of mineral sunscreens by Leila F. Deravi, Isabel Cui, Camille A. Martin. International Journal of Cosmetic Science (2024) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ics.12993 First published: 19 July 2024

This paper is behind a paywall.

The Seaspire Skincare website does not have any information about where you might access products with Xanthochrome. I’ll be keeping watch hoping to see some products in the not too distant future.

A biochemical means of protecting passwords and anti-counterfeiting solution for art and other precious goods

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I guess you could say my passwords are as precious to me as a piece.of art is to some people.

DNA can be used to confirm the authenticity of valuable art prints. (AI-​generated image: ETH Zurich)

An April 8, 2024 ETH Zurich press release (also on EurekAlert) by Fabio Bergamin features an approach that could make passwords secure from quantum computers, Note: A link has been removed,

Security experts fear Q-​Day, the day when quantum computers become so powerful that they can crack today’s passwords. Some experts estimate that this day will come within the next ten years. Password checks are based on cryptographic one-​way functions, which calculate an output value from an input value. This makes it possible to check the validity of a password without transmitting the password itself: the one-​way function converts the password into an output value that can then be used to check its validity in, say, online banking. What makes one-​way functions special is that it’s impossible to use their output value to deduce the input value – in other words, the password. At least not with today’s resources. However, future quantum computers could make this kind of inverse calculation easier.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have now presented a cryptographic one-​way function that works differently from today’s and will also be secure in the future. Rather than processing the data using arithmetic operations, it is stored as a sequence of nucleotides – the chemical building blocks of DNA.

Based on true randomness

“Our system is based on true randomness. The input and output values are physically linked, and it’s only possible to get from the input value to the output value, not the other way round,” explains Robert Grass, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences. “Since it’s a physical system and not a digital one, it can’t be decoded by an algorithm, not even by one that runs on a quantum computer,” adds Anne Lüscher, a doctoral student in Grass’s group. She is the lead author of the paper, which was published in the journal Nature Communications.

The researchers’ new system can serve as a counterfeit-​proof way of certifying the authenticity of valuable objects such as works of art. The technology could also be used to trace raw materials and industrial products.

How it works

The new biochemical one-​way function is based on a pool of one hundred million different DNA molecules. Each of the molecules contains two segments featuring a random sequence of nucleotides: one segment for the input value and one for the output value. There are several hundred identical copies of each of these DNA molecules in the pool, and the pool can also be divided into several pools; these are identical because they contain the same random DNA molecules. The pools can be located in different places, or they can be built into objects.

Anyone in possession of this DNA pool holds the security system’s lock. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can be used to test a key, or input value, which takes the form of a short sequence of nucleotides. During the PCR, this key searches the pool of hundreds of millions of DNA molecules for the molecule with the matching input value, and the PCR then amplifies the output value located on the same molecule. DNA sequencing is used to make the output value readable.

At first glance, the principle seems complicated. “However, producing DNA molecules with built-​in randomness is cheap and easy,” Grass says. The production costs for a DNA pool that can be divided up in this way are less than 1 Swiss franc. Using DNA sequencing to read out the output value is more time-​consuming and expensive, but many biology laboratories already possess the necessary equipment.

Securing valuable goods and supply chains

ETH Zurich has applied for a patent on this new technology. The researchers now want to optimise and refine it to bring it to market. Because using the method calls for specialised laboratory infrastructure, the scientists think the most likely application for this form of password verification is currently for highly sensitive goods or for access to buildings with restricted access. This technology won’t be an option for the broader public to check passwords until DNA sequencing in particular becomes easier.

A little more thought has already gone into the idea of using the technology for the forgery-​proof certification of works of art. For instance, if there are ten copies of a picture, the artist can mark them all with the DNA pool – perhaps by mixing the DNA into the paint, spraying it onto the picture or applying it to a specific spot.

If several owners later wish to have the authenticity of these artworks confirmed, they can get together, agree on a key (i.e. an input value) and carry out the DNA test. All the copies for which the test produces the same output value will have been proven genuine. The new technology could also be used to link crypto-​assets such as NFTs, which exist only in the digital world, to an object and thus to the physical world.

Furthermore, it would support counterfeit-​proof tracking along supply chains of industrial goods or raw materials. “The aviation industry, for example, has to be able to provide complete proof that it uses only original components. Our technology can guarantee traceability,” Grass says. In addition, the method could be used to label the authenticity of original medicines or cosmetics.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Chemical unclonable functions based on operable random DNA pools by Anne M. Luescher, Andreas L. Gimpel, Wendelin J. Stark, Reinhard Heckel & Robert N. Grass. Nature Communications volume 15, Article number: 2955 (2024) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47187-7 Published: 05 April 2024

This paper is open access.

Reformulated body wash from Dove first nano-enabled product (in the US ) for boosting skin moisture.

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Dove (a Unilever brand) claims that nanotechnology is involved but i can’t find anything other than the declaration. From a February 7, 2023 article by Julia Wray on cosmeticsbusiness.com,

A newly reformulated body wash from Dove is the first product of its kind in the US using nanotechnology to boost skin moisture.

The proprietary technology for Dove Body Wash featuring 24-hour Renewing MicroMoisture [emphasis mine] claims to nourish skin via millions of tiny droplets, which deposit onto the skin, fitting into cracks and crevices of dry skin for a smooth finish.

Stearic and palmitic fatty acids are said to penetrate deeply within the stratum corneum to visibly reduce dryness by 50% after each shower.

The new formula is accompanied by the Unilever brand’s first pack update in 17 years.

…

There’s the microscale (millionth) and the nanoscale (billionth)—not the same thing.

A February 22, 2023 Dove Canada news release provides a Canadian flavour to the news,

Today [February 22, 2023], Dove announces the latest advance in superior moisturization with the launch of NEW Dove Body Wash featuring 24-hour Renewing MicroMoisture. The new formula is powered by proprietary nano technology to actively generate the skin’s moisture, and has a new look to match, with a modern, user-friendly bottle design that reflects the first upgrade to Dove’s iconic bottle pack in 17 years.

Dove’s new formula continuously nourishes skin and improves its moisture barrier for a full 24 hours as well as uses proprietary technology with millions of moisturizing microdroplets to help boost and retain moisture. These tiny droplets deposit onto the skin, fitting into the gaps and crevices of dry skin for a silky-smooth finish, while stearic and palmitic fatty acids with Dove’s moisturizing blend penetrate deeply within the stratum corneum to visibly reduce dryness by 50% after every shower.

To accompany the new formula, Dove worked with leading cutting-edge designers and technicians to create the first upgrade to the iconic pack in 17 years – a beautiful bottle to match the skin it cares for. Long-time Dove users will recognize the coloured cap, representing their tried-and-true favourites, while the discreetly curved oval-shaped lid is a nod to where it all began for Dove – the Dove Beauty Bar. The Body Wash’s shower-friendly design not only means it is easy to use, but you can hold it, flip the cap, and dispense the body wash with just one hand. The bottle has even been crafted to allow it to be inverted on your bathroom shelves when it gets low and the cap can be completely removed, so it’s moisturizing to the last drop.

“Just like our bodies adapt and change as we move through life, so do our skincare preferences. Dove is continuing to understand these new changes through innovation and research.” says Rishabh Gandhi, Personal Care Director, Unilever Canada. “We are so thrilled to be launching our new Body Wash that accommodates all skincare needs by delivering the best in hydration while improving moisture barriers.”

…

To kick-off the Change is Beautiful pop-up [held Feb. 25 -26, 2023], Dove has partnered with iconic Canadian actress, Annie Murphy, [emphasis mine] to launch the new Dove body wash collection. Annie is best known for her starring role as Alexis Rose in the CBC sitcom Schitt’s Creek. “We’re born with skin (hopefully), the skin grows and changes (hopefully), and the growing and changing means we’re human (hopefully). Change is something I’m working on leaning into, instead of fighting against.” says Annie Murphy. “Dove puts a lot of consideration into everything they do, so I’m happy to be a part of their campaign that cares for our changing skin.”

…

I wasn’t able to find any specific references to nanotechnology and research on either the Dove or Unilever websites but I did find this July 12, 2022 Unilever news release “Research unlocks the secret to helping dry skin heal itself,” which offers some insight into the company’s research,

Cutting-edge research by Unilever scientists could unlock a new generation of personal care products to support our skin’s barrier.

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For anyone who’s interested in nanotechnology and skincare, I found this historical perspective (link to article and citation follow the excerpt), Note: Links in excerpt have been removed,

Cosmetics include a wide range of products, mainly designed for external use and intended to cleanse, perfume, change the appearance of, correct odors emanating from, or more generally keep in good condition the areas of the body to which they are applied [1]. As a consequence of globalization, the role of these products is rapidly evolving and their use has been increasingly considered to be an essential part of personal wellness [2,3]. The improved life expectancy that has developed alongside the evolution of beauty standards has greatly changed consumer perceptions of routine daily care, which is no longer restricted to basic products (e.g., toothpaste, soap). Not surprisingly, the global beauty and personal care market value is predicted to exceed $716 billion by 2025, with much of that value related to the development of innovative and/or redesigned products and technologies [4].

The rapid rise of the cosmetics industry has been characterized by a growing demand for innovative and personalized products designed on the basis of increasingly detailed scientific knowledge [5]. In addition, the recent COVID-19 pandemic and associated global events have suggested that market trends for cosmetics are strongly affected by customer perceptions and are thus ever-changing; indeed, after years in which the demand has been increasingly oriented towards the use of “clean” and natural products, the pandemic has highlighted the need for safer and transparent items [6,7].

Back in 1986 [Note: Links have been removed], Lancôme and Dior simultaneously launched the first nanotechnology-based cosmetic products under the name of Niosomes® and Capture®, respectively [7,8]. The introduction of nanotechnology was pronounced to be a major scientific innovation and represented a major breakthrough towards the development of high-quality products; its use is now well-established in the cosmetics industry. Indeed, less demanding regulatory restrictions as compared to the development of new drugs, along with the localised action of these products, initially made the field extremely promising [9,10]. Nowadays, it is widely accepted that the use of nanoparticles (NPs) significantly improves the performance of cosmetics in diverse ways, performing both as an active ingredient and/or a carrier. For this reason, these technologies may be easily recognized as industry standards [11]. However, doubts about possible long-term [12] toxicity, together with concerns about the real advantages of nanomaterials in product performance, have often led to general mistrust [13,14]. Indeed, in late 2009 the European Union recast the individual directives associated with the use of cosmetics into a single platform collecting all of the relevant products. It was then proposed that the presence of nanomaterials in these products should necessitate additional restrictions before they are authorised for use as ingredients [15]. As a consequence, the cosmetics industry became wary of publicly promoting nanotechnology, often avoiding referring to ingredients as being composed of nanomaterials. Given this background, the present review aims to provide an update of the state of the art of the nanocosmetics field, exploring the beneficial effects of nanomaterials and offering a critical overview of toxicological issues. Among the various cosmetic product categories, our insights are mainly focused on skincare, which more clearly highlights the reappraisal of exploiting nanotechnology in cosmetics.

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The researchers are from the University of Milano (Italy), so any reference to regulations and rules are almost certainly those that pertain to the European Union (EU).

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

The emerging role of nanotechnology in skincare by Lucia Salvioni, Lucia Morelli, Evelyn Ochoa, Massimo Labra, Luisa Fiandra, Luca Palugan, Davide Prosperi, Miriam Colombo. Advances in Colloid and Interface Science Volume 293, July 2021, 102437 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cis.2021.102437

This paper is open access.

Sound waves for wearable patches that deliver drugs painlessly

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While watching this video I started wondering if they were testing their research on students but that’s not the case; these wearable patches were tested on porcine (pig) skin, which is quite similar to human skin, Note: They tested a B vitamin called niacinamide so, it’s highly unlikely the pigs suffered from it,

An April 20, 2023 news item on ScienceDaily announces the research into using ultrasonic waves for drug delivery,

The skin is an appealing route for drug delivery because it allows drugs to go directly to the site where they’re needed, which could be useful for wound healing, pain relief, or other medical and cosmetic applications. However, delivering drugs through the skin is difficult because the tough outer layer of the skin prevents most small molecules from passing through it.

In hopes of making it easier to deliver drugs through the skin, MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] researchers have developed a wearable patch that applies painless ultrasonic waves to the skin, creating tiny channels that drugs can pass through. This approach could lend itself to delivery of treatments for a variety of skin conditions, and could also be adapted to deliver hormones, muscle relaxants, and other drugs, the researchers say.

…

An April 20, 2023 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) news release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, provides technical details about the research, Note: A link has been removed,

“The ease-of-use and high-repeatability offered by this system provides a game-changing alternative to patients and consumers suffering from skin conditions and premature skin aging,” says Canan Dagdeviren, an associate professor in MIT’s Media Lab and the senior author of the study. “Delivering drugs this way could offer less systemic toxicity and is more local, comfortable, and controllable.”

MIT research assistants Chia-Chen Yu and Aastha Shah are the lead authors of the paper, which appears in Advanced Materials, as part of the journal’s “Rising Stars” series, which showcases the outstanding work of researchers in the early stages of their independent careers. Other MIT authors include Research Assistant Colin Marcus and postdoc Md Osman Goni Nayeem. Nikta Amiri, Amit Kumar Bhayadia, and Amin Karami of the University of Buffalo are also authors of the paper.

A boost from sound waves

The researchers began this project as an exploration of alternative ways to deliver drugs. Most drugs are delivered orally or intravenously, but the skin is a route that could offer much more targeted drug delivery for certain applications.

“The main benefit with skin is that you bypass the whole gastrointestinal tract. With oral delivery, you have to deliver a much larger dose in order to account for the loss that you would have in the gastric system,” Shah says. “This is a much more targeted, focused modality of drug delivery.”

Ultrasound exposure has been shown to enhance the skin’s permeability to small-molecule drugs, but most of the existing techniques for performing this kind of drug delivery require bulky equipment. The MIT team wanted to come up with a way to perform this kind of transdermal drug delivery with a lightweight, wearable patch, which could make it easier to use for a variety of applications.

The device that they designed consists of a patch embedded with several disc-shaped piezoelectric transducers, which can convert electric currents into mechanical energy. Each disc is embedded in a polymeric cavity that contains the drug molecules dissolved in a liquid solution. When an electric current is applied to the piezoelectric elements, they generate pressure waves in the fluid, creating bubbles that burst against the skin. These bursting bubbles produce microjets of fluid that can penetrate through the skin’s tough outer layer, the stratum corneum.

“This works open the door to using vibrations to enhance drug delivery. There are several parameters that result in generation of different kinds of waveform patterns. Both mechanical and biological aspects of drug delivery can be improved by this new toolset,” Karami says.

The patch is made of PDMS, a silicone-based polymer that can adhere to the skin without tape. In this study, the researchers tested the device by delivering a B vitamin called niacinamide, an ingredient in many sunscreens and moisturizers.

In tests using pig skin, the researchers showed that when they delivered niacinamide using the ultrasound patch, the amount of drug that penetrated the skin was 26 times greater than the amount that could pass through the skin without ultrasonic assistance.

The researchers also compared the results from their new device to microneedling, a technique sometimes used for transdermal drug delivery, which involves puncturing the skin with miniature needles. The researchers found that their patch was able to deliver the same amount of niacinamide in 30 minutes that could be delivered with microneedles over a six-hour period.

Local delivery

With the current version of the device, drugs can penetrate a few millimeters into the skin, making this approach potentially useful for drugs that act locally within the skin. These could include niacinamide or vitamin C, which is used to treat age spots or other dark spots on the skin, or topical drugs used to heal burns.

With further modifications to increase the penetration depth, this technique could also be used for drugs that need to reach the bloodstream, such as caffeine, fentanyl, or lidocaine. Dagdeviren also envisions that this kind of patch could be useful for delivering hormones such as progesterone. In addition, the researchers are now exploring the possibility of implanting similar devices inside the body to deliver drugs to treat cancer or other diseases.

The researchers are also working on further optimizing the wearable patch, in hopes of testing it soon on human volunteers. They also plan to repeat the lab experiments they did in this study, with larger drug molecules.

“After we characterize the drug penetration profiles for much larger drugs, we would then see which candidates, like hormones or insulin, can be delivered using this technology, to provide a painless alternative for those who are currently bound to self-administer injections on a daily basis,” Shah says.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

A Conformable Ultrasound Patch for Cavitation-Enhanced Transdermal Cosmeceutical Delivery by Chia-Chen Yu, Aastha Shah, Nikta Amiri, Colin Marcus, Md Osman Goni Nayeem, Amit Kumar Bhayadia, Amin Karami, Canan Dagdeviren. Advanced Materials Volume35, Issue 23 June 8, 2023 2300066 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202300066 First published online: 19 March 2023

This paper is open access.

Adding as little as 0.1% of rosmarinic acid reduced amount of sunscreen needed to protect skin and more

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Since metallic nanoparticles are now pretty much accepted as being relatively safe ingredients, I don’t write about sunscreens very often anymore. Of course metallic nanoparticles had to be rebranded as ‘minerals’ after some civil society groups raised a great fuss. (See my February 9, 2012 posting “Unintended consequences: Australians not using sunscreens to avoid nanoparticles?” for a rundown of the situation.)

This April 5, 2023 news item about a different kind of sunscreen ingredient on phys.org caught my eye,

An article published in the journal Cosmetics reports an investigation of the effects of including rosmarinic acid, an active antioxidant, in a sunscreen along with two conventional ultraviolet light filters, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (against UVB) and avobenzone (against UVA).

…

They don’t seem to have tested this new ingredient in any ‘mineral’ sunscreens but it seems an intriguing possibility. Here’s more about rosmarinic acid and why it may be a good addition to sunscreens from an April 5, 2023 Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo Research Foundation; FAPESP) press release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, Note: Links have been removed)

The research group increased the sunscreen’s photoprotective efficacy by adding rosmarinic acid at 0.1%, a very small proportion compared with those of conventional UV filters. They believe their findings suggest that incorporating natural molecules with antioxidant activities into sunscreens could decrease the proportion of conventional UV filters in the final product, with the advantage of providing other functional properties.

The product’s performance improved without the need to increase active principle levels, reducing both the amount of sunscreen needed to protect the same skin area and the volume of synthetic chemicals discharged into the environment.

In vitro and clinical trials obtained a 41% increase in sun protection factor (SPF). The higher the SPF, the more sunburn protection increases.

Another advantage of including rosmarinic acid was the addition of antioxidant activity to photoprotection so that the product could be used in antiaging cosmetics, for example.

“Our research on photoprotective systems aims primarily to evaluate potential sunscreen enhancement strategies. We’re interested above all in discovering ways to increase sunburn protection while also improving the stability of the product so that it remains safe and effective for longer,” said pharmaceutical scientist and biochemist André Rolim Baby, last author of the article and a professor at the University of São Paulo’s School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FCF-USP) in Brazil.

“We’re also looking for products or systems with less environmental impact and ways of reducing the concentration of conventional filters by including natural ingredients that enhance the formulation. And we’re very interested in mapping other cosmetic properties of photoprotective molecules, such as anti-free radical action and protection of biomarkers in the outermost skin layers.”

Multifunctional compound

The investigation was part of a project supported by FAPESP to map chemopreventive properties of various UV filters.

In addition to being an antioxidant, rosmarinic acid, a natural polyphenol antioxidant found in rosemary, as well as sage, peppermint and many other herbal plants, has antiviral, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antibiotic and anticancer properties.

In a review article published in 2022 in the journal Nutrients, the research group highlighted the beneficial effects of rosmarinic acid as a food supplement, such as improvement in skin firmness and wrinkle reduction.

“In another investigation, we found potential benefits of rosmarinic acid for skin surface hydration, reinforcing the need for more research on the substance in the field of cosmetology,” Baby said.

…

Here’s a link to and a citation for the research team’s latest paper,

Photoprotective Efficacy of the Association of Rosmarinic Acid 0.1% with Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate and Avobenzone by Maíra de Oliveira Bispo, Ana Lucía Morocho-Jácome, Cassiano Carlos Escudeiro, Renata Miliani Martinez, Claudinéia Aparecida Sales de Oliveira Pinto, Catarina Rosado, Maria Valéria Robles Velasco and André Rolim Baby. Cosmetics 2023, 10(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/cosmetics10010011 Published: 5 January 2023 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Cosmetics in 2022)

This paper is open access.

BSB Nanotechnology, silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO2), and Dow

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Silicon dioxide (a form of silicon) is more commonly known as silica. There are problems with our use of *silica and so it was interesting to see this announcement (from a September 21, 2022 Dow news release on csiwire.com),

MIDLAND, Mich., September 21, 2022 /CSRwire/ – Dow (NYSE: Dow) announced a new engagement with BSB Nanotechnology Joint Stock Company, the world’s first producer of premium rice husk-based specialty silica. Rice husk, a renewable resource produced as a waste product of rice milling, is used for a plethora of diverse applications in the personal care market. This engagement helps accelerate Dow’s commitment towards a bio-based offering. The newly added ingredient – sold under the Dow trademark EcoSmooth™ Rice Husk Cosmetic Powder – delivers optical benefits and a unique sensorial experience for consumers in skin care, hair care and color cosmetic applications.

“Dow’s partnership with BSB Nanotechnology shines a light on how we continue to deliver on our commitment to transition towards a circular and low-carbon personal care offering while fostering valuable relationships with industry trailblazers,” said Isabel Almiro do Vale, global marketing and strategy director for Dow Personal Care. “This partnership is another significant milestone allowing Dow to expand its portfolio of products that enable eco-conscious claims, prioritizing solutions that deliver high-quality, benefits backed by science.”

The product of choice for the eco-conscious consumer, the EcoSmooth™ Rice Husk Cosmetic Powder is the exclusive ingredient to make its debut between the two parties. Compiled from non-GMO natural sources, this silica powder is upcycled from rice husk, a by-product from agriculture. It delivers a smooth feel combined with optical benefits like blurring imperfections and mattifying skin.

“This agreement signifies not only the first step towards a collaboration between Dow and BSB in the personal care sector but has also opened new pathways to other business sectors within Dow where BSB’s bio-based rice husk silica can offer sustainability and multifunctionality,” said Hung Nguyen, CEO of BSB. “BSB will continue to create more innovative and green solutions for the world and offer these additives through global partners like Dow.”

About Dow Personal Care Solutions

Dow Personal Care offers unique, innovative ingredients that empower customers around the world to create products with exceptional performance and exciting benefits that consumers can trust and believe in. Consumers that seek the confidence of a healthy appearance can see and feel the difference in our products through their lustrous hair or radiant and protected skin. We leverage our understanding of customer needs, deep market knowledge and technical expertise—combined with one of the broadest portfolios of technologies—to deliver personal care solutions with outstanding performance that are safe for people and the planet. We foster these innovations on global and local levels to meet the needs of diverse consumers through business centers, research and development (R&D), manufacturing plants and customer applications centers around the world. Please visit for more information.

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth; asset integration and scale; focused innovation and materials science expertise; leading business positions; and environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership to achieve profitable growth and deliver a sustainable future. The Company’s ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world. Dow’s portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated, science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer applications. Dow operates 104 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 35,700 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $55 billion in 2021. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.

About BSB Nanotechnology

BSB Nanotechnology Joint Stock Company, an established multi-faceted business, forayed into the rice world through the formulation of rice-based milk, a widely popular beverage in Vietnam. Strategically located in the Mekong Delta, the rice basket of Vietnam, BSB Nanotech taps into the country’s position as the 5th largest rice producer to access the main ingredient to its healthy beverage product. While feeding this nutritious gift of nature to the people of Vietnam, BSB Nanotech was presented with large amounts of rice husk, a waste product of rice milling. Building upon the business principle of reducing waste by reuse, BSB Nanotech has embarked on a journey to discover and create the value that rice husk could offer through its range of premium rice husk silica under the brand Biosilico. For more information, visit www.biosilico.vn .

I’m quite taken with BSB Nanotechnology’s Biosilico About page,

THE JOURNEY FROM ASH TO CASH

BSB Nanotechnology Joint Stock Company, an established multi-faceted business, forayed into the rice world through the formulation of rice-based milk, a widely popular beverage in Vietnam. Strategically located in the Mekong Delta, the rice basket of Vietnam, BSB Nanotech taps into the country’s  position as the 5th largest rice producer to access the main ingredient to its healthy beverage product. While feeding this nutritious gift of nature to the people of Vietnam, BSB Nanotech was presented with large amounts of rice husk, a waste product of rice milling. Building upon the business principle of reducing waste by reuse, BSB Nanotech has embarked on a journey to discover the value that rice husk could offer.

In the attempt to derive by-products from rice husk, BSB Nanotech learns that the most significant value held within rice husk ash is the high content of naturally present silica. Currently, sand and quartz are the only other naturally occurring silica sources. However, extracting silica from sand and quartz not only causes health hazards, but sand mining by itself presents a huge ecological and sociological problem. The utilization of rice husk ash to produce nanoporous silica is a positive step towards both a bio-based and circular economy, as ultrafine silica/nanosilica can be manufactured from this renewable resource and agricultural waste.

After 4 years of extensive research and development, a highly dedicated team of researchers of BSB Nanotech has successfully harnessed amorphous silica in its highest purity and quality from this waste material using a unique and patented technology. A new bio-based nanoporous silica under the BIOSILICO brand is now commercially available and can be customized to suit an array of applications.

OUR PROMISE TODAY FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

Today, BSB Nanotech is recognized as the world’s first producer of rice husk based nanoporous silica on a commercial scale. We are currently working with several global partners to expand the range of BIOSILICO’s applications from the Paints and Coatings to Rubber additives and Cosmetics industries.

To ensure that our products are delivered with its promised quality and committed schedule, BSB Nanotech undertook rigorous training and auditing to refine its operation, and production process and documentation to achieve the ISO [International Standards Organisation] QMS certification in 2020.

The company has embarked on a roadmap to become a global producer and developer of rice husk based nanoporous silica in both production volume and diverse applications.

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Maybe one of these days we’ll see BSB Nanotechnology at the annual Zero Waste Conference held here in Vancouver (Canada) during the autumn.

*See my July 10, 2014 posting scroll down [about 10%] to the University of California at Riverside news release for difficulties of working with silicon at the nanoscale, then scroll down about 40% to the discussion of Sand Wars, a documentary about how our appetite for silica (silicon dioxide) is depleting our beaches of sand.*

Tattoo yourself painlessly

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This is all at the microscale (for those who don’t know what micro means in this context, it’s one-millionth; specifically, the needles are measured in miilionths of a meter).

Caption: A magnified view of a microneedle patch with green tattoo ink. Credit: Georgia Tech

From a September 14, 2022 Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) news release (also on EurekAlert),

Instead of sitting in a tattoo chair for hours enduring painful punctures, imagine getting tattooed by a skin patch containing microscopic needles. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed low-cost, painless, and bloodless tattoos that can be self-administered and have many applications, from medical alerts to tracking neutered animals to cosmetics.

“We’ve miniaturized the needle so that it’s painless, but still effectively deposits tattoo ink in the skin,” said Mark Prausnitz, principal investigator on the paper. “This could be a way not only to make medical tattoos more accessible, but also to create new opportunities for cosmetic tattoos because of the ease of administration.”

Prausnitz, Regents’ Professor and J. Erskine Love Jr. Chair in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, presented the research in the journal iScience, with former Georgia Tech postdoctoral fellow Song Li as co-author.

Tattoos are used in medicine to cover up scars, guide repeated cancer radiation treatments, or restore nipples after breast surgery. Tattoos also can be used instead of bracelets as medical alerts to communicate serious medical conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy, or allergies.

Various cosmetic products using microneedles are already on the market — mostly for anti-aging — but developing microneedle technology for tattoos is new. Prausnitz, a veteran in this area, has studied microneedle patches for years to painlessly administer drugs and vaccines to the skin without the need for hypodermic needles.

“We saw this as an opportunity to leverage our work on microneedle technology to make tattoos more accessible,” Prausnitz said. “While some people are willing to accept the pain and time required for a tattoo, we thought others might prefer a tattoo that is simply pressed onto the skin and does not hurt.” 

Transforming Tattooing

Tattoos typically use large needles to puncture repeatedly into the skin to get a good image, a time-consuming and painful process. The Georgia Tech team has developed microneedles that are smaller than a grain of sand and are made of tattoo ink encased in a dissolvable matrix.

“Because the microneedles are made of tattoo ink, they deposit the ink in the skin very efficiently,” said Li, the lead author of the study.

In this way, the microneedles can be pressed into the skin just once and then dissolve, leaving the ink in the skin after a few minutes without bleeding.  

Tattooing Technique

Although most microneedle patches for pharmaceuticals or cosmetics have dozens or hundreds of microneedles arranged in a square or circle, microneedle patch tattoos imprint a design that can include letters, numbers, symbols, and images. By arranging the microneedles in a specific pattern, each microneedle acts like a pixel to create a tattoo image in any shape or pattern.

The researchers start with a mold containing microneedles in a pattern that forms an image. They fill the microneedles in the mold with tattoo ink and add a patch backing for convenient handling. The resulting patch is then applied to the skin for a few minutes, during which time the microneedles dissolve and release the tattoo ink. Tattoo inks of various colors can be incorporated into the microneedles, including black-light ink that can only be seen when illuminated with ultraviolet light.

Prausnitz’s lab has been researching microneedles for vaccine delivery for years and realized they could be equally applicable to tattoos. With support from the Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs, Prausnitz’s team started working on tattoos to identify spayed and neutered pets, but then realized the technology could be effective for people, too.

The tattoos were also designed with privacy in mind. The researchers even created patches sensitive to environmental factors such as light or temperature changes, where the tattoo will only appear with ultraviolet light or higher temperatures. This provides patients with privacy, revealing the tattoo only when desired.

The study showed that the tattoos could last for at least a year and are likely to be permanent, which also makes them viable cosmetic options for people who want an aesthetic tattoo without risk of infection or the pain associated with traditional tattoos. Microneedle tattoos could alternatively be loaded with temporary tattoo ink to address short-term needs in medicine and cosmetics.

Microneedle patch tattoos can also be used to encode information in the skin of animals. Rather than clipping the ear or applying an ear tag to animals to indicate sterilization status, a painless and discreet tattoo can be applied instead.

“The goal isn’t to replace all tattoos, which are often works of beauty created by tattoo artists,” Prausnitz said. “Our goal is to create new opportunities for patients, pets, and people who want a painless tattoo that can be easily administered.”

Prausnitz has co-founded a company called Micron Biomedical that is developing microneedle patch technology, bringing it further into clinical trials, commercializing it, and ultimately making it available to patients. 

Prausnitz and several other Georgia Tech researchers are inventors of the microneedle patch technology used in this study and have ownership interest in Micron Biomedical. They are entitled to royalties derived from Micron Biomedical’s future sales of products related to the research. These potential conflicts of interest have been disclosed and are overseen by Georgia Institute of Technology. 

You can see what they mean when they claim this is not competitive with the work you’ll see from a tattoo artist,

Heart tattoo: microneedle patch (above) and tattoo on skin (below).Credit: Song Li, Georgia Tech

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Microneedle patch tattoos by Song Li, Youngeun Kim, Jeong Woo Lee, Mark R. Prausnitz. iScience DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.105014 Published: September 14, 2022

This paper is open access.

The company mentioned in the news release, Micron Biomedical can be found here.

Extending a wig’s life with a nanocomposite

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A June 13, 2022 American Chemical Society (ACS) news release (also on EurekAlert) announces a nanocomposite that could make wigs last longer,

For some people, wigs are a fun and colorful fashion accessory, but for those with hair loss from alopecia or other conditions, they can provide a real sense of normalcy and boost self-confidence. Whether made from human or synthetic strands, however, most hairpieces lose their luster after being worn day after day. Now, researchers in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces report a new way to make wigs more durable and long lasting.

Wigs come in all colors of the rainbow and in every style imaginable. Some cover the whole head, while others are “extensions,” sections of hair that clip onto existing locks to make them look fuller or longer. Hairpieces can be made of real human strands or synthetic materials, but either way, washing, UV exposure from the sun and repeated styling can cause these products to become dry and brittle. To extend the wearable life of wigs, some researchers have spray-coated a layer of graphene oxide on them, whereas other teams have immersed wig hairs in a keratin/halloysite nanocomposite. Because it’s difficult to cover an entire hairpiece with these methods, Guang Yang, Huali Nie and colleagues wanted to see if a nanocomposite applied with a tried-and-true approach for coating surfaces with ultrathin films — known as the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique — could improve coverage and increase durability.

The researchers first developed a keratin and graphene oxide nanocomposite as the coating material. To coat hairs with the LB method, they dipped a few human or synthetic hairs into water in a special apparatus with moveable side barriers. After the nanocomposite was spread on the water’s surface with an atomizer, the barriers were moved inward to compress the film— like the trash compactor that almost crushed the heroes in the movie Star Wars. After 30 minutes, the researchers lifted the hairs out of the water, and as they did so, the film coated the locks.

Compared to the immersion technique, the LB method provided more coverage. In addition, hairs treated with the LB approach sustained less UV damage, were less prone to breakage and could hold more moisture than those that were simply immersed in the nanocomposite. They also dissipated heat better and generated less static electricity when rubbed with a rubber sheet. The researchers say that the method can be scaled up for use by companies that manufacture wigs.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, the Shanghai Natural Science Foundation, the Shanghai Pujiang Program, the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, and the Shanghai International Cooperative Project of the Belt and Road.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

High-Performance Wigs via the Langmuir–Blodgett Deposition of Keratin/Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite by Shan Du, Tiantian He, Huali Nie, and Guang Yang. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2022, 14, 23, 27233–27241 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.2c05965 Publication Date:June 3, 2022 Copyright © 2022 American Chemical Society

This paper is behind a paywall.

Oxygen-deficient nanotitania (titanium dioxide nanoparticles) for whiter teeth without the damage

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A September 8, 2021 news item on phys.org announces research that could make the process of whitening teeth safer,

Most people would like to flash a smile of pearly whites, but over time teeth can become stained by foods, beverages and some medications. Unfortunately, the high levels of hydrogen peroxide in dentists’ bleaching treatments can damage enamel and cause tooth sensitivity and gum irritation. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have developed a gel that, when exposed to near infrared (NIR) light, safely whitens teeth without the burn.

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Caption: A new bleaching gel whitened tooth samples by six shades, using a low level of hydrogen peroxide (12%). Credit: Adapted from ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2021, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c06774

A September 8, 2021Amercian Chemical Society (ACS) news release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, provides more detail,

The growing demand for selfie-ready smiles has made tooth whitening one of the most popular dental procedures. Treatments at a dentist’s office are effective, but they use high-concentration hydrogen peroxide (30–40%). Home bleaching products contain less peroxide (6–12%), but they usually require weeks of treatment and don’t work as well. When a bleaching gel is applied to teeth, hydrogen peroxide and peroxide-derived reactive oxygen species (mainly the hydroxyl radical) degrade pigments in stains. The hydroxyl radical is much better at doing this than hydrogen peroxide itself, so researchers have tried to improve the bleaching capacity of low-concentration hydrogen peroxide by boosting the generation of powerful hydroxyl radicals. Because previous approaches have had limitations, Xingyu Hu, Li Xie, Weidong Tian and colleagues wanted to develop a safe, effective whitening gel containing a catalyst that, when exposed to NIR light, would convert low levels of hydrogen peroxide into abundant hydroxyl radicals.

The researchers made oxygen-deficient titania nanoparticles that catalyzed hydroxyl radical production from hydrogen peroxide. Exposing the nanoparticles to NIR light increased their catalytic activity, allowing them to completely bleach tooth samples stained with orange dye, tea or red dye within 2 hours. Then, the researchers made a gel containing the nanoparticles, a carbomer gel and 12% hydrogen peroxide. They applied it to naturally stained tooth samples and treated them with NIR light for an hour. The gel bleached teeth just as well as a popular tooth whitening gel containing 40% hydrogen peroxide, with less damage to enamel. The nanoparticle system is highly promising for tooth bleaching and could also be extended to other biomedical applications, such as developing antibacterial materials, the researchers say.

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Key R&D Program of China and the Key Technologies R&D Program of Sichuan Province.

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Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Photothermal-Enhanced Fenton-like Catalytic Activity of Oxygen-Deficient Nanotitania for Efficient and Safe Tooth Whitening by Xingyu Hu, Li Xie, Zhaoyu Xu, Suru Liu, Xinzhi Tan, Ruojing Qian, Ruitao Zhang, Mingyan Jiang, Wenjia Xie, and Weidong Tian. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2021, 13, 30, 35315–35327 Publication Date: July 22, 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c06774 Copyright © 2021 American Chemical Society

This paper is behind a paywall.