According to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), ensuring a clean and healthy environment will provide multiple benefits to society and economy. Sustainable production, followed by appropriate management of industrial and agricultural waste, will protect and enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services. To achieve this objective, specific policies must be put in place and specific actions performed for making a low-carbon and resource-efficient economy with reduced production of petrol-derived goods. The aim of the study has been to produce effective and safe anti-age beauty masks made of non-woven tissues based on the use of chitin nanofibril (CN) and nanolignin (LG), obtained from crustaceans and plant biomass, respectively. To this purpose, nanoparticles and electrospun fibres have been characterized by Dynamic Light Scattering and SEM, while the safeness and effectiveness of the obtained tissues was verified in vitro on a culture of keratinocytes and fibroblasts, and controlled in vivo by expert dermatologists on 30 volunteer photo-aged women, by subjective and objective bioengineered methods. The in vitro results have shown that the beauty masks have no toxic effects on the viability of keratinocytes and fibroblasts treated by the Dimethyl Tetrazole (MTT) method, and exhibit a decreased expression of cytokines, playing a central role in the regulation of immune and inflammatory responses in premature aging and environmental assaults. The reparative and antiaging effectiveness of these innovative beauty masks have been also verified on the release of Metallo Proteinase I (MMP-1) and the increased synthesis of collagen type I, reduced in skin aging. The first preliminary in vivo results, obtained by engineering methods, have confirmed the protective and rejuvenating activity shown by the in vitro study conducted on 30 voluntary women exhibiting signs of photoaging. The raw materials used are of natural origin being also respectful of the environment, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (EOCD) and EU programmes.
Abstract:The paper describes the process to produce Chitin Nanofibril-Hyaluronan nanoparticles (CN-HA), showing their ability to easily load active ingredients, facilitate penetration through the skin layers, and increase their effectiveness and safety as an OPEN ACCESSCosmetics 2014, 1 141 anti-aging agent. Size and characterization of CN-HA nanoparticles were determined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Zetasizer, while encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity of the entrapped ingredients were controlled by chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods. Safeness was evidenced on fibroblasts and keratinocytes culture viability by the MTT (Methylthiazol) assay; anti-aging activity was evaluated in vitro measuring antioxidant capacity, anti-collagenase activity, and metalloproteinase and pro-inflammatory release; efficacy was shown in vivo by a double-blind vehicle-controlled study for 60 days on 60 women affected by photo-aging. In addition, the CN-HA nanoparticles have shown interesting possibility to be used as active ingredients, for designing and making advanced medication by the electrospinning technology, as well as to produce transparent films for food packaging, by the casting method, and can be used also in their dry form as tissues or films without adding preservatives. These unusual CN-HA nanoparticles obtained from the use of raw materials of waste origin may offer an unprecedented occasion for making innovative products, ameliorating the quality of life, reducing pollution and safeguarding the environment's integrity.
Recent advances in process chemistry have made it possible to make chitosan and chitin nanofibril materials more flexible and useful for the development of new biorelated products. In this study, the effectiveness of three chitin nanofibril/chitosan glycolate-based preparations, a spray (Chit-A), a gel (Chit-B), and a gauze (Chit-C), in healing cutaneous lesions are assessed macroscopically and by light microscopy immunohistochemistry. These evaluations are compared to the results obtained using a laser co-treatment. The wound repair provided by the three preparations is clearly evident even without the synergistic effect of the laser co-treatment. These results confirm the effectiveness of chitin nanofibril/chitosan glycolate-based products in restoring subcutaneous architecture. The spray seems to be most effective in healing superficial lesions, including extensive ones; the gel is more effective in repairing shallow lesions as well as an aesthetic factor while the gauze is effective in slow-healing dermo-epidermal wounds.
Chitosan/chitin nanowhiskers composite based on the components from seafood industry waste represents a promising material for the preparation of biodegradable food-packaging films, however, its range of applications is limited by its significant rigidity. Application of plasticisers in chitosan/chitin nanowhiskers composites leads to an elastic material due to simultaneous plasticising of both components; as a result, a composite comprised of an elastic matrix with stretchable nanofibers is obtained. The formation of an elastic composite is confirmed both by the mechanical behaviour corresponding to the low modulus components that are in agreement with Halpin Tsai model and by the decrease in glass transition temperature of both components measured by DSC.
Chitin Nanofibril (CN) is the purest crystal form of chitin obtained industrially from fishery and crustacean waste. Characterized by positive charges covering its surface, this natural polymer has the ability to form block copolymeric nanoparticles with electronegative natural or man-made compounds, entrapping active ingredients also. Due to its own biological properties, CN complexed with hyaluronic acid and entrapped with different active ingredients has been included into cosmetic emulsions, electrospun fibers and transparent films obtained by the casting technology. The antiaging activity of the obtained emulsions has been reported as well as the first technical characteristics of the non-woven tissues and the transparent films made by two EU research projects: BIOMIMETIC (www.biomimetic-eu-project.eu) and n-CHITOPACK (www.n-chitopack.eu).
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