Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Damaged Hair and Other Topics: Literature Findings

By: Charlie Fox, Independent Consultant

Posted: July 30, 2009, from the August 2009 issue of C&T Magazine.

This month’s survey of recent patent and research literature describes moneymaking ideas for personal care product development, including an integral collagen treatment, CoQ10 for UVB-induced wrinkles, fullerene in cosmetics, a melatonin hair treatment and biotin for hair growth, among others.

Skin and Skin Care
TiO2 nanoparticles on AD lesions: Yanagisawa et al. have found that titanium dioxide nanoparticles aggravate atopic dermatitis (AD)-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice.¹ Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles are produced abundantly and used ubiquitously in various cosmetic products. However, the effects of transdermal exposure of AD skin to TiO₂ nanoparticles had yet to be determined.

In the described work, the authors investigated the effects of differently sized TiO2 nanoparticles on AD-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice assumed to show skin barrier dysfunction/defects. Male mice were injected intradermally with TiO₂ nanoparticles of 15 nm, 50 nm or 100 nm and/or mite allergen into their right ears. The authors evaluated clinical scores, ear thickening, histological findings and the protein expression of T helper (T_h) 1 and T_h2 cytokines in the ear, and the levels of immunoglobulin (Ig) and histamine in serum. TiO₂ nanoparticles aggravated AD-like skin lesions related to mite allergen in NC/Nga mice. The enhancing effects were paralleled by the overproduction of interleukin-4 (IL-4) in the skin and the overall levels of total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and histamine in serum. In contrast, TiO₂ nanoparticles decreased the local expression of IFN-gamma in the presence of an allergen.

Additionally TiO₂ nanoparticles alone significantly increased histamine levels in serum and IL-13 expression in the ear. However, different effects related to size variances of the TiO₂ nanoparticles were not observed. Thus, researchers concluded that exposure to TiO₂ nanoparticles under skin barrier dysfunction/defects could exacerbate AD symptoms. Furthermore, TiO₂ nanoparticles could play a significant role in the initiation and/or progression of skin diseases following the barrier dysfunction/defect by histamine release even in the absence of an allergen.

CoQ₁₀ on UVB-induced wrinkles: Inui et al. studied the mechanisms of inhibitory effects of coenzyme Q₁₀ (CoQ₁₀) on UVB-induced wrinkle formation in vitro and in vivo.² Photo-damaged skin exhibits wrinkles, pigmented spots, dryness and tumors. Solar UV radiation induces cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD) and further produces base oxidation by reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are thought to be a major factor to initiate the up-regulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in keratinocytes and fibroblasts via activation of receptor proteins on the cell membrane of keratinocytes and fibroblasts, and to degrade fiber components in the dermis, leading to wrinkle formation.