Skin Application Research Articles

The potential emulsions of xanthan gum and Daucus carota macerated oil in functional textiles for skincare applications: Formulation, characterization, and performance evaluation

This study investigates the formulation and characterization of functional textiles with skin hydration properties by using Daucus carota macerated oil-based O/W emulsions. The key novelty lies in obtaining skin-hydrating textiles by using Daucus carota macerated oil as an active compound. Ten O/W emulsions were prepared by mixing in different ratios of Daucus carota macerated oil, xanthan gum, Tween 80, and water. The droplet morphology (size and shape) and the properties of the emulsion (pH, conductivity, turbidity, surface tension, contact angle) were investigated as a function of each constituent variation in the formulation, maintaining the others constant, to find the proper conditions to obtain stable and compatible with skin application o/w emulsions. Selected emulsions were tested for their biocompatibility and antimicrobial properties. The biocompatibility test shows that the high surfactant content is cytotoxic to NHDF cells, whereas emulsions with less surfactant content are biocompatible, irrespective of the Daucus carota macerated oil content. The emulsion skincare effects were evidenced by skin hydration and antimicrobial analyses. The obtained results suggest that these bioactive emulsions have sufficient potential to be used in skincare finishes to textiles by applying them on a cellulosic fabric obtaining new functional textiles with skin hydration properties and good comfort indexes (hygroscopicity, air, and vapor permeability). This study opens new perspectives in the field of skincare textiles by exploring the moisturizing potential of Daucus carota macerated oil emulsions in obtaining functional supports with skin hydration properties. The results provide evidence that the obtained functional textiles show better skin hydration compared to the case with direct application of the emulsion on the skin. Thus, the textile support plays a significant role in creating an occlusive barrier that helps retain moisture and prevents the loss of water from the skin's surface. Consequently, skincare textiles could represent an excellent choice for skin hydration.

Study of acute toxicity parameters of diclofenac sodium by different methods of administration

Annotation. The purpose of the work was to determine and investigate the parameters of the toxic effect of the substance diclofenac sodium in different ways of entering the body of warm-blooded animals. To achieve this goal, diclofenac sodium was administered to animals once and acute toxic effects were studied in white mice, non-linear white rats, and short-haired guinea pig under the conditions of intragastric, transdermal, and intranasal administration. The criteria for the toxicity of the studied compound (sodium diclofenac) were DL50 and CL50, using the probit analysis method. In addition, a number of toxicity indicators were calculated, in particular, allergenicity, local irritant effect were determined, and the effect on the mucous membrane of the eye. According to the obtained results, the DL50 indicator of diclofenac sodium in mice was 550 mg/kg (intragastric administration); in female rats – 54.83 mg/kg (intragastric administration). The toxicological parameter of diclofenac sodium was obtained – DL50 of transdermal administration for female rats, which is 104.4 mg/kg. It was determined that the CL50 of diclofenac sodium for mice is 71.61 mg/m3, the CL50 for male rats is 243.11 mg/m3. Diclofenac sodium has been found to be non-lethal to ants after a single dermal injection, but can irritate their skin in high concentrations. However, this substance, penetrating through the skin, causes deterioration of health and death of rats. When determining the allergenicity and local irritant effect in animals, it is shown that diclofenac sodium does not have a pronounced irritating effect on the mucous membrane of the eyes and does not exhibit allergenic properties. So, the established indicators of acute toxicity of diclofenac sodium testify to the expediency and perspective of further determination of cumulative characteristics during multiple intragastric, intranasal administrations and skin applications in order to establish and justify the maximum permissible concentration of diclofenac sodium in the atmospheric air of populated areas.

Prediction of Spheroid Cell Death Using Fluorescence Staining and Convolutional Neural Networks.

Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture is emerging for drug design and drug screening. Skin toxicity is one of the most important assays for determining the toxicity of a compound before being used in skin application. Much work has been done to find an alternative assay without animal experiments. 3D cell culture is one of the methods that provides clinically relevant models with superior clinical translation compared to that of 2D cell culture. In this study, we developed a spheroid toxicity assay using keratinocyte HaCaT cells with propidium iodide and calcein AM. We also applied the transfer learning-containing convolutional neural network (CNN) to further determine spheroid cell death with fluorescence labeling. Our result shows that the morphologies of the spheroid are the key features in determining the apoptosis cell death of the HaCaT spheroid. Our CNN model provided good statistical measurement in terms of accuracy, precision, and recall in both validation and external test data sets. One can predict keratinocyte spheroid cell death if that spheroid image contains the fluorescence signals from propidium iodide and calcein AM. The CNN model can be accessed in the web application at https://qsarlabs.com/#spheroiddeath.

Soft Magnetic Skin's Deformation Analysis for Tactile Perception

Soft magnetic skins have been widely adopted for tactile perception due to their high accuracy and simple wiring advantages. However, the perceptual properties of magnetic skins are limited by information mapping relationships with weak interpretation. To overcome existing limitations, dynamic Young's modulus (DYM) is proposed in this paper based on strain energy density function to precisely describe the compression stiffness of magnetic skins. Furthermore, a highly interpretable and broadly applicable method is derived using DYM to analyze a cylindrical magnetic skin's deformation process as the skin deformed under external mechanic load. Extensive experiments in simulated and real situations with different deformations are carried out to verify the proposed method. Experimental results demonstrate that 0.14% and 0.43% relative errors in simulated and real environments, respectively, can be reached. Moreover, the proposed method can achieve minimum errors in almost all situations than data-driven or state-of-the-art analysis approaches. And the generality of the proposed method is validated by experiments conducted on skins with two different shapes. These promising results indicate the potential of the proposed method in establishing practical information mapping relationships for magnetic skins, probably addressing the significant challenges for magnetic skin application in complex scenarios.

Wearable Magnetic Field Sensor with Low Detection Limit and Wide Operation Range for Electronic Skin Applications.

Flexible electronic devices extended abilities of humans to perceive their environment conveniently and comfortably. Among them, flexible magnetic field sensors are crucial to detect changes in the external magnetic field. State-of-the-art flexible magnetoelectronics do not exhibit low detection limit and large working range simultaneously, which limits their application potential. Herein, a flexible magnetic field sensor possessing a low detection limit of 22 nT and wide sensing range from 22 nT up to 400 mT is reported. With the detection range of seven orders of magnitude in magnetic field sensor constitutes at least one order of magnitude improvement over current flexible magnetic field sensor technologies. The sensor is designed as a cantilever beam structure accommodating a flexible permanent magnetic composite and an amorphous magnetic wire enabling sensitivity to low magnetic fields. To detect high fields, the anisotropy of the giant magnetoimpedance effect of amorphous magnetic wires to the magnetic field direction is explored. Benefiting from mechanical flexibility of sensor and its broad detection range, its application potential for smart wearables targeting geomagnetic navigation, touchless interactivity, rehabilitation appliances, and safety interfaces providing warnings of exposure to high magnetic fields are explored.

Exploiting the Gut Microbiota to Boost Immunotherapy and Switch the Trajectory of Multiple Myeloma

Clonal proliferation of neoplastic plasma cells in the bone marrow (BM) and organ dysfunction characterizes multiple myeloma (MM), a treatable but incurable disease. Although asymptomatic smoldering MM (SMM) often precedes full blown MM, most patients affected by SMM are only offered active observation, which increases their frustration and anxiety. In transgenic Vk*MYC mice developing de novo MM, we found a direct link between gut microbiota composition and T helper 17 (Th17) lymphocytes, which migrated from the gut to the BM during asymptomatic MM (Early-MM), and favored the expansion of neoplastic plasma cells, thus fueling progression to symptomatic disease (Late-MM) [Calcinotto A. et al. Nat Commun (2018) 9(1):4832]. Similarly, in SMM patients, higher levels of BM Interleukin-17 (IL-17) predicted accelerated disease [Calcinotto A. et al. Nat Commun (2018) 9(1):4832]. Interestingly, Prevotella melaninogenica ( P.m.), a human commensal, limited MM aggressiveness in mice challenged with Vk*MYC-derived MM cells (t-Vk*MYC) by restraining Th17 cell expansion [Calcinotto et al. Nat Commun (2018) 9(1):4832]. Because the gut microbiota also contributes to the therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) and human neoplastic plasma cells express PD-L1, we hypothesized that modulation of the gut microbiota by P.m. could limit Th17 cell expansion in mice affected by Early-MM, thus fully exploiting the therapeutic potential of anti-PD-L1 against MM. Clinical trials combining anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies, dexamethasone and immune modulatory drugs in MM were halted by US FDA because of unfavorable benefit-risk profile and life-threatening immune related adverse events (irAEs). Because IL-17 is involved in irAEs [Johnson et al. Cancer Immunol Res (2019) 7 (6): 860-865], we also hypothesized treatment with P.m. could restrain ICB-induced expansion of Th17 cells while unleashing CD8-mediated antitumor immunity. Early-MM Vk*MYC mice and t-Vk*MYC, the latter mimicking aggressive MM, were treated with P.m. and/or anti-PD-L1 and disease progression was monitored by paraprotein quantification in blood. Anemia provided clinical evidence of symptomatic disease. At sacrifice, gut, spleen and BM were analyzed by flow cytometry. In vitro assays were conducted to clarify the mechanism by which the gut microbiota influenced the induction of Th17 cells. To mimic cutaneous irAE, the skin of treated mice was exposed to imiquimod, which induces Th17-mediated inflammation [van der Fits et al. J Immunol (2009 )182(9): 5836-5845]. Body weight loss, skin inflammation, and inflammatory infiltrate into secondary lymphoid organs were taken as measure of imiquimod-induced toxicity. In Vk*MYC mice, all neoplastic plasma cells expressed PD-L1. Treatment of Early-MM Vk*MYC mice with anti-PD-L1 antibodies delayed progression to Late-MM, thus extending previous findings on the use of ICB in this model to anti-PD-L1 antibodies and Early-MM [Guillerey et al. J Clin Invest (2015 )125(5): 2077-2089]. Treatment with P.m. exerted a similar effect on disease progression, suggesting that a treatment as simple as taking a probiotic has an impact on MM evolution. When P.m. was combined with anti-PD-L1 antibodies, evolution to Late-MM was further delayed or even blocked. Single and combined treatments also reduced MM aggressiveness in t-Vk*MYC mice. Mechanistically, P.m. limited the expansion of gut-born Th17 cells and their accumulation in the BM of treated mice without dampening the antitumor cytotoxic response elicited by the ICB. Thus, only the combined treatment provided the most favorable CD8/Th17 and CD8/T regulatory cell ratios. Ex vivo, P.m.-conditioned BM DCs showed a limited propensity to produce Th17-polarizing cytokines. In vitro, stimulation of both human and mouse DCs with P.m. reduced polarization of naïve T cells toward a Th17 phenotype. Skin application of imiquimod in C57BL/6 mice induced psoriasis-like lesions and expansion of Th17 cells both in draining lymph nodes and spleen. The contextual administration of anti-PD-L1 antibodies worsened imiquimod-induced inflammation. An ongoing experiment will clarify if mice receiving P.m. and ICB experience reduced skin lesions. Taken together, our data support the development of microbiota-based strategies in combination with ICB to treat full-blown MM and to prevent progression of asymptomatic SMM to full-blown disease.

The effect of phase change material application in double skin Façade on energy saving of residential buildings considering different climates: a case study

ABSTRACT The amount of energy expenditure in buildings is 30–40% of the total energy consumption in the world and this share will increase to 50% by 2050. Therefore, reducing energy consumption is a necessity and one of the ways to reduce energy expenditure in buildings is to use passive methods. The use of DSF is expanding as a new approach for building facades due to its ability to prevent excessive heat by absorbing solar radiation. For this purpose, the energy performance of PCM and DSF was studied in three climates of Tehran, Tabriz, and Kish Island, to reveal their energy saving potential. Based on the results of this article, the use of PCM in different layers of DFS can result in a considerable energy saving in Iran residential sector. PCM is integrated both in the external wall and in the partition wall of the DoubleSkin Façade under three different climates. DesignBuilder is used for the thermal analysis of the building. The effects of melting temperature, location of PCM layer in the wall have been investigated. The results showed that we will witness the highest total energy savings percentage in the cold semi-arid climate because of using Infinite RPCM23 in October, amounting to 91.6%. In addition, by using Infinite RPCM25 in warm semi-arid climates in the highest percentage of heating load savings is 99.9% in December and January, and the highest percentage of cooling load savings in cold semi-arid climates is 67.5% by using InfiniteRPCM23 in September.

A highly sensitive flexible capacitive pressure sensor with hierarchical pyramid micro-structured PDMS-based dielectric layer for health monitoring.

Herein, a flexible pressure sensor with high sensitivity was created using a dielectric layer featuring a hierarchical pyramid microstructure, both in simulation and fabrication. The capacitive pressure sensor comprises a hierarchically arranged dielectric layer made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with pyramid microstructures, positioned between copper electrodes at the top and bottom. The achievement of superior sensing performance is highly contingent upon the thickness of the dielectric layer, as indicated by both empirical findings and finite-element analysis. Specifically, the capacitive pressure sensor, featuring a dielectric layer thickness of 0.5 mm, exhibits a remarkable sensitivity of 0.77 kPa-1 within the pressure range below 1kPa. It also demonstrates an impressive response time of 55ms and recovery time of 42ms, along with a low detection limit of 8Pa. Furthermore, this sensor showcases exceptional stability and reproducibility with up to 1,000 cycles. Considering its exceptional achievements, the pressure sensor has been effectively utilized for monitoring physiological signals, sign language gestures, and vertical mechanical force exerted on objects. Additionally, a 5 × 5 sensor array was fabricated to accurately and precisely map the shape and position of objects. The pressure sensor with advanced performance shows broad potential in electronic skin applications.

Principle and Application of Lipid Nanoparticles in Cosmetics

Lipid nanoparticles (LNs) are colloidal particles having a biocompatible lipid matrix and nanoparticle (NP) sizes between 100 nm and 400 nm. They are called "nanosafe" carriers and show outstanding tolerability. Solid lipid nanoparticles use lipid as the skeleton material which has a high melting point. SLNs have the characteristics of high physical stability, relatively less drug leakage and good slow release, low toxicity and easy to mass production. The structure of the solid particle matrix allows solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) to be distinguished from nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs). NLC is prepared by mixing liquid lipids and solid lipids. NLC improves the solubility of the active substance, improves the release ability of the substance, and also prolongs the storage life of the active substance in the carrier. Plenty of characteristics for skin application of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics are displayed by SLNs and NLC, such as drug targeting, regulated release of active ingredients, occlusion properties, and related enhancements to penetration and skin hydration. This review focuses on the characteristic of SLNs and NLCS, analyzing their advantages and disadvantages and lipid nanoparticles application in cosmetics are described in detail.

The formulation and invitro evaluation of WS Biotin, a novel encapsulated form of D-Biotin with improved water solubility for hair and skin treatment applications.

To develop and evaluate the efficacy of WS Biotin, a novel water-soluble form of D-Biotin, for cosmetic use. A new encapsulated form of D-Biotin was developed with the purpose of improving the water solubility of biotin. This novel form of encapsulated biotin was characterized by its physicochemical properties: particle size, D-Biotin content and solubility in water. Also, proliferation and gene expression invitro tests in cell culture were performed to evaluate its effectiveness in promoting hair growth, an ELISA test was conducted for hair keratinization and skin lightening property was tested by analysing the intracellular melanin content. The developed WS Biotin microcapsules exhibit a particle size range of 2-30 μm with D-Biotin content of ~50% (w/w). The water solubility of WS Biotin was found to be 20-fold greater than free biotin. The obtained invitro results indicated that WS Biotin enhances the expression of hair-related keratins in hair follicle keratinocytes, as well as the expression of hair growth-promoting genes in dermal papilla cells. Moreover, the melanin content in UVA-exposed epidermal melanocytes was reduced upon exposure to WS Biotin. In this work, a novel form of encapsulated biotin, WS Biotin, was developed in order to improve the water solubility of free biotin and was found to be effective for cosmetic use in both hair and skin applications.

Dual-network conductive hydrogel with rapid self-healing ability and great fatigue resistance as strain sensor for human motion monitoring

As the classical soft materials, ionic conductive hydrogels have attracted considerable attention in the field of wearable strain sensors due to their unique stretchability, satisfactory conductivity, and good conformability. However, there remains a challenge in developing ionic conductive hydrogels that possess integrated mechanical strength, self-healing capability, and adhesion performance. Herein, a multifunctional dual-network poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/borax (B)/sodium alginate (SA) ionic conductive hydrogel (PBS) was designed and constructed through a facile one-pot blending method with PVA and SA as the hydrogel matrix and borax as the cross-linker. The dynamic borate ester covalent bonds between PVA, SA and borax and hydrogen bonding between PVA and SA provided the energy dissipated center and endowed PBS hydrogel with favorable stretchability (∼950%), high toughness (122.21 kJ m−3), rapid self-healing ability, good fatigue resistance and robust adhesion performance. It can be assembled into strain sensor for its stable conductivity, high sensing sensitivity (gauge factor (GF) of 6.53), fast response time (280 ms) and excellent durability, which can be directly attached on body to accurately detect diverse human activity signals. This work is expected to provide new ideas for construction of high performance flexible sensor and to expand their application in electronic skin, wearable devices, and soft actuators.

Development and characterization of gel-like matrix containing genistein for skin application

Lipid-based nanoplatforms appear to be one of the most promising groups of biomaterials for skin delivery. This is due to their favourable physicochemical, mechanical and safety properties. Gel-like matrices play an important role in medicine, pharmacy and cosmetology. The aim of the present study was to obtain a gel-like matrix based on freeze-dried nanostructured lipid carriers prepared with Softisan® 649 and Miglyol® 812 for the dermal delivery of genistein. The nanostructured lipid carriers were prepared and characterised by the hot ultrasound method. Genistein-loaded nanoparticles have a size around 235 nm, similar to empty nanoparticles (225 nm), and show storage stability up to 12 weeks at room temperature. Nanoencapsulation protected genistein from photodegradation and preserved its antioxidant activity. Biocompatibility assays showed that neither genistein-loaded nor empty lipid nanoparticles adversely affected HaCaT cell viability up to 100 μg mL−1 of genistein, while the IC50 of free genistein was 68.7 μg mL−1. The lipid nanoparticles were freeze-dried to obtain a gel-like matrix. The presence of genistein slightly reduces the swelling ability of the lipid-based gels, the gel-like matrix shows non-thixotropic behaviour and good resistance to deformation, which is not affected by the presence of genistein, indicating the stability of the nanoformulation. In vitro skin permeation assays show an increased skin deposition of genistein for the gel-like formulation compared to free isoflavone. The data obtained in the present study demonstrate the potential of the gel-like matrix to deliver genistein to the skin, suggesting a promising application as a supplement for sun protection and skin diseases associated with solar UV radiation.

Impact of Anticoagulant Function By the Addition of Heparinoid in Vitro in the Plasmas from Patients with Hemophilia and Von Willebrand Disease

Background: Heparinoid (Hirudoid ®) is a local anticoagulant preparation as skin application that relieves pain and inflammation with addition to promoting healing in superficial thrombophlebitis and bruising. Heparinoid is mainly composed of chondroitin sulfate and has high moisturizing ability due to the large number of hydrophilic group. Thus, it is used as topical treatments for sebum deficiency in Japan. Since heparinoid has a structure similar to heparin, the package insert states the contraindication for hemorrhagic diseases such as hemophilia and von Willebrand disease (VWD) in Japan. Hemophilia A and B (HA/HB) are inherited bleeding disorders caused by a defect in factor (F) VIII and FIX coagulant protein, respectively. Based on its activity levels, the clinical severity is classified as severe (<1 IU/dL), moderate (1-5 IU/dL), and mild (>5-40 IU/dL). VWD is the common congenital bleeding disorders and is caused by a deficiency of von Willebrand factor (VWF). VWD is classified into partial deficiency (type 1), qualitative deficiency (type 2), and complete quantitative deficiency (type 3) of VWF, based on the VWF antigen (VWF:Ag) and ristocetin cofactor activity (VWF:RCo) level. In the clinical practice, there are cases of hemorrhagic patients using heparinoid at the discretion of their families. However, the influence of heparinoid on coagulant function in human subjects remains to be investigated, and it is unclear if the patients with hemophilia and VWD can use heparinoid safely. Aim: To examine the impact of anticoagulant function of heparinoid in vitro in the plasmas from patients with hemophilia and VWD. Methods: The maximum blood concentration from absorbed heparinoid was estimated to be 2.5 µg/mL, based on the previous report, when heparinoid was applied to the skin as stated in package insert. Heparinoid (0-6.5 µg/mL) or unfractionated heparin (0-0.6 IU/mL) were added to normal plasma (NP), followed by measuring activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) by one-stage clotting assay. A modified clot waveform analysis (CWA) using an aPTT reagent were performed on the CS-2400™ (Sysmex), followed by measuring clotting time (CT) and adjusted maximum coagulation velocity (Ad|min1|). Heparinoid was also added to the patients' plasmas with HA, HB, or VWD, followed by CWA assessment. The CT and Ad|min1| of 20 healthy individuals were 31.1±0.1 sec and 6.90±0.05 (median±SEM). Results: aPTT and CT values in NP by the spike of heparinoid were prolonged and Ad|min1| was decreased dose-dependently. The addition of 2.5 µg/mL heparinoid showed that aPTT (34.3 sec; 1.2-fold of control (no heparinoid)), CT (36.3 sec; 1.2-fold of control), and Ad|min1| (9.5; 0.96-fold of control) were comparable to the effect of ~0.2 IU/mL heparin, suggesting that heparinoid exhibited slight anticoagulant effect for NP. To examine the effect of heparinoid on HA/HB plasmas, recombinant (r) FVIII or rFIX (0-50 IU/dL) were added to FVIII- or FIX-deficient plasmas (3 lots each) together with heparinoid (0-6.3 µg/mL), respectively. The addition of heparinoid had prolonged the CT and decreased the Ad|min1| at each concentration of FVIII and FIX dose-dependently. The addition of 2.5 µg/mL heparinoid showed modest anticoagulant effect for HA and HB at each concentration of FVIII and FIX (CT; 1.3- and 1.5-fold of control, Ad|min1|; 0.82- and 0.87-fold of control). Next, the effect of heparinoid on the plasma from one VWD patient each with type 1 (VWF:Ag/VWF:RCo 28 IU/dL/26 IU/dL), type 2 (20 IU/dL/9 IU/dL), and type 3 (<2 IU/dL/<3 IU/dL) was assessed. The addition of 2.5 µg/mL heparinoid showed slight anticoagulant effect for each type of VWD (CT; ~1.3-fold of control, Ad|min1|; ~0.91-fold of control). Conclusion: The presence of heparinoid demonstrated mild anticoagulant effect in vitro in the plasmas of patients with hemophilia and VWD. It might be possible to apply the heparinoid-contained product as skin treatment for these patients.

The prevalence and severity of dry skin and related skin care in older adult residents in institutional long-term care: A cross-sectional study

ObjectivesTo identify possible factors associated with different severities of xerosis cutis and to describe possible associations between (skin) care dependency and application of moisturizers. DesignCross-sectional study using baseline data from a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Demographic and health characteristics, skin physiological measurements, functional abilities and application of moisturizers were compared between the participants with mild and severe dry skin. Frequency of moisturization were also compared based on the participants’ skin care dependency. ResultsThe more distal the body area, the more severe xerosis were observed. There were no or minor differences between the groups, except for the stratum corneum hydration and skin surface pH. Participants with severe xerosis received moisturizers less often. Skin care dependent residents received moisturizers frequently. ConclusionThere is under-application regarding xerosis cutis treatment in long-term care. Skin care provided by nurses, in adequate frequencies, might be helpful compared to skin care performed by the residents themselves.

PH-dependent release properties of curcumin encapsulated alginate nanoparticles in skin and artificial sweat

Topical skin application of curcumin is challenging due to the low solubility and poor stability, including fast photodegradation, of this bioactive compound. Therefore, curcumin encapsulated alginate (CU-Al) nanoparticles were prepared by the ionic gelation method followed by freeze drying to determine the efficacy of alginate in facilitating curcumin release. Evaluation of the release of curcumin from the encapsulate in the presence of artificial sweat (pH 4.7) and skin (pH 5.5), about which the literature is meagre, was carried out after particle size characterization. CU-Al nanoparticles were in the nano-range (186.8 nm), assimilated a negative zeta-potential value (-15.4 ± 8.13 mV), and displayed a high encapsulation efficiency (94.55 ± 0.53%). The release of encapsulated curcumin at pH 5.5 (max. 64%) and at pH 4.7 (max. 27%) were significantly different. In pH 5.5 and pH 4.7, the release profiles of encapsulated curcumin fitted best with the Weibull (followed an anomalous transport mechanism) and Gompertz (followed a super case II transport mechanism) models respectively, displaying sigmoidal release patterns. Diffusion and polymer relaxation/swelling based release at pH 5.5 and rapid polymer relaxation/erosion based release at pH 4.7 have governed the encapsulated curcumin release. The results indicated that CU-Al nanoparticles may be utilized to facilitate controlled and prolonged release of curcumin in both skin and artificial sweat, thereby functioning as a promising novel delivery vehicle for curcumin. However, skin deposition or penetration may be required for yielding a satisfactory topical administration of curcumin during sweating.

Tilapia Fish Skin Treatment of Third-Degree Skin Burns in Murine Model.

This study explored the feasibility of using fish skin bandages as a therapeutic option for third-degree skin burns. Following the California wildfires, clinical observations of animals with third-degree skin burns demonstrated increased comfort levels and reduced pain when treated with tilapia fish skin. Despite the promises of this therapy, there are few studies explaining the healing mechanisms behind the application of tilapia fish skin. In this study, mice with third-degree burns were treated with either a hydrocolloid adhesive bandage (control) (n = 16) or fish skin (n = 16) 7 days post-burn. Mice were subjected to histologic, hematologic, molecular, and gross evaluation at days 7, 16, and 28 post-burn. The fish skin offered no benefit to overall wound closure compared to hydrocolloids. Additionally, we detected no difference between fish skin and control treatments in regard to hypermetabolism or hematologic values. However, the fish skin groups exhibited 2 times more vascularization and 2 times higher expression of antimicrobial defensin peptide in comparison to controls. Proteomic analysis of the fish skin revealed the presence of antimicrobial peptides. Collectively, these data suggest that fish skin can serve as an innovative and cost-effective therapeutic alternative for burn victims to facilitate vascularization and reduce bacterial infection.

Topical Application of Siberian Pine Essential Oil Formulations Enhance Diabetic Wound Healing.

This study aimed to develop novel topical formulations based on a natural component (0.5% of Siberian pine essential oil) and to assess its wound-healing capacity through macroscopic, histopathological, and biochemical examination. The phytochemical profile of Pinus sibirica essential oil (PSEO) and rheological analysis and safety potential of formulations were determined. The wound-healing effect was evaluated on an excision wound model in diabetic Wistar albino rats randomly divided into the following groups topically treated with (1) untreated, (2) 1% silver sulfadiazine, (3) ointment base, (4) gel base, (5) PSEO ointment, and (6) PSEO gel. Formulations containing PSEO were stable and safe for skin application. Three weeks of treatment with both PSEO formulations (ointment and gel) led to a significant reduction in wound size (98.14% and 96.28%, respectively) and a remarkably higher level of total hydroxyproline content (9.69 µg/mg and 7.26 µg/mg dry tissue, respectively) relative to the control group (65.97%; 1.81 µg/mg dry tissue). These findings were in correlation with histopathological results. Topically applied PSEO formulations were associated with a significant reduction in most of the measured pro-oxidants and enhanced activity of the antioxidant defense system enzymes (p < 0.05). Our findings showed that gel and ointment with PSEO demonstrated significant wound-repairing capabilities in the excision wound model.

A Topical Alginate-Based Wound Gel Fixated with Metal-Based Nanoparticles and Tranexamic Acid as a Hemostatic Wound Healing System

AbstractWounds are usually accompanied by complications such as excessive bleeding and bacteria invasion. The design of wound dressings that rapidly stop excessive bleeding and inhibit bacterial invasion, is crucial to promoting accelerated wound healing. To meet the abovementioned requirements in wound dressings, topical gels were prepared from sodium alginate (SA) and carbopol. The wound dressings were loaded with an antifibrinolytic agent, tranexamic acid, and a variety of metal-based nanoparticles. The prepared topical gels displayed significant antibacterial efficacy against Gram-negative bacteria and moderate activity against Gram-positive bacterial strains. These gels exhibited good spreadability and viscosity, signifying suitability for skin application, and ease of application. Moreover, the prepared gels showed good cytocompatibility, promoted cell proliferation, and exhibited &gt; 85% wound closure on day 3 compared to the untreated which showed a 38% wound reduction in vitro. Excellent blood clotting absorbance values were observed for the gels compared to the control, showing that they can promote blood clotting. Features presented by the prepared gels reveal that they are promising wound dressings for treating bleeding and infected wounds.

Nonlinear SAR Modelling of Mosquito Repellents for Skin Application.

Finding new marketable mosquito repellents is a complex and time-consuming process that can be optimized via modelling. In this context, a SAR (Structure-Activity Relationship) model was designed from a set of 2171 molecules whose actual repellent activity against Aedes aegypti was available. Information-rich descriptors were used as input neurons of a three-layer perceptron (TLP) to compute the models. The most interesting classification model was a 20/6/2 TLP showing 94% and 89% accuracy on the training set and test set, respectively. A total of 57 other artificial neural network models based on the same architecture were also computed. This allowed us to consider all chemicals both as training and test set members in order to better interpret the results obtained with the selected model. Most of the wrong predictions were explainable. The 20/6/2 TLP model was then used for predicting the potential repellent activity of new molecules. Among them, two were successfully evaluated in vivo.

Co-induced allergic response to an unrelated allergen exacerbates imiquimod-induced psoriasis in mice.

Psoriasis is classically regarded as a Th1 response-dominant disease believed to be antagonized by the Th2 response, which is responsible for allergic diseases, such as atopic dermatitis. The roles of these responses in psoriasis and the relationship between psoriasis and atopic dermatitis have received increasing attention because it is estimated that more than one million patients are concomitantly affected by psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. To address this, we attempted to determine the characteristics of imiquimod-induced psoriasiform lesions in mice with a concomitant allergic response after co-application of the unrelated allergen ovalbumin onto the skin. Imiquimod cream containing ovalbumin was successively applied to the right back skin of hairless HR female mice. Psoriasiform scores were determined for 11 days, and then, the resected skin thickness, spleen weight, and serum antibody levels were examined. In some experiments, mice were allowed free access to ovalbumin-containing water for 10 days before skin application to induce oral tolerance. Imiquimod cream induced psoriasis, and its severity increased upon simultaneous ovalbumin treatment. Increases in anti-ovalbumin IgG2a levels, a Th1 response indicator, and IgG1 and IgE levels, Th2 response indicators, were mediated by ovalbumin addition. Oral tolerance against ovalbumin effectively decreased ovalbumin-exacerbated imiquimod-induced psoriasis, in parallel with a decrease in levels of anti-ovalbumin antibodies. These results suggest that the concomitant allergic response induced by ovalbumin application exacerbates imiquimod-induced psoriasis. This implies that allergic responses to unrelated allergens might exacerbate psoriasis in humans and that modulating such responses could be an effective new approach to treat psoriasis.