Lithiation–delithiation reactions in Li‐ion batteries do exhibit a huge electrochemically driven volume change of the anode material between the lithium‐free and lithiated‐host states, which results in a gradually fading capacity. Minimizing this volume change of the electrode during cycling is essential to achieve stable electrochemical behavior and thus for innovating design of electrode materials for Li storage. Here, ordered mesoporous CoSn intermetallic anode materials with various Co/Sn atomic ratios are developed. A dual‐buffer effect is discovered that accommodates the volume changes in the electrode material by not only repeatedly generating void nanospaces but also by incorporating electrochemically inactive elements. Novel insights into the nanostructural changes of electrode materials during the lithiation–delithiation process are obtained by in operando small angle X‐ray scattering. The degrees of volume change and nanoscopic order are found to be highly dependent on the Co contents in the mesoporous CoSn intermetallic anode materials, being possible to achieve a durable nanostructured electrode upon prolonged cycling.
Background: Glutamic acid is known to be effective for keratinocyte proliferation, but its dermatological application is limited due to its poor solubility in water and various solvents.Aim: Here, the efficacy of the arginine glutamate ion pair (named as RE:pair) for recovering damaged skin and improving skin elasticity was investigated through the analysis of keratinocyte proliferation and collagen synthesis.Methods: Following the structural analysis of RE:pair using spectroscopic methods, a scratch assay, and Pro-Collagen I ELISA, skin tissue changes in wound-induced artificial skin, changes in wound area after laser wound induction, and the sensory evaluation of skin improvement were investigated.Results: As a result of scratch assay, wound recovery of 94.55% ± 9.57% was confirmed at 10 ppm RE:pair treatment. When evaluation of expression efficacy of procollagen type I, it was found that the expression rate was increased by 32.47% ± 5.62% compared with the control group. Further, the upregulation of the proliferation marker Ki-67 and filaggrin expression in the damage-induced artificial skin was verified.Clinically, the improvement was subjectively verified in terms of the reduction of the wound area, the restoration of the barrier, the improvement of skin elasticity, and through the sensory experience of skin improvement.
Conclusion:RE:pair shows a greater therapeutic effect than the individual effects of its constituent amino acids and those of the simple mixtures of these compounds. RE:pair exerts its therapeutic action by promoting the proliferation of keratinocytes and enhancing collagen synthesis in fibroblasts. Accordingly, it can be used throughout the cosmetic industry as an effective amino acid wound healing and skin elasticity improving material.
Background
Salicylic acid has been used as an anti‐acne agent with its comedolytic property and antimicrobial activity. However, there is a limit to use for leave‐on cosmetics because of the transient skin irritation and low efficacy at neutral pH condition. We prepared a salicylic acid‐based ionic pair with L‐carnitine (we named, IP‐BHA) overcoming the limitation of salicylic acid. We examined the effect of IP‐BHA as well as the combination effect with magnolol, a bioactive organic lignan, in order to clarify their efficacy as anti‐acne agents.
Methods
After verifying the structure of IP‐BHA, we confirmed anti‐acne activities including the regulation of exfoliation, lipogenesis, bacterial growth, and inflammation with IP‐BHA and/or magnolol.
Results
The antibacterial activity of IP‐BHA and magnolol was evaluated by determining the minimum antibacterial inhibitory concentration. Magnolol showed strong activity against Cutibacterium acnes, which was better than a medical antibiotic acne drug, clindamycin. The combined application with IP‐BHA was more effective in antibacterial activity by 2.5 times. It was confirmed that testosterone‐induced lipogenesis was significantly inhibited by treatment with IP‐BHA and magnolol, while single treatment had no significant inhibitory effect. Interestingly, MMP‐1 and VEGF were induced by C. acnes lysate in human keratinocytes. We found that these inflammatory molecules were completely inhibited by combined application of IP‐BHA and magnolol. Through ex vivo test, the dose‐dependent exfoliation effect of IP‐BHA was confirmed at pH 5.5, and the synergic exfoliation effect was shown in the combined application of IP‐BHA and magnolol. When topically applied, the emulsion containing IP‐BHA and magnolol relieved the sodium dodecyl sulfate‐induced erythema and improved inflamed acne with papule and pustule.
Conclusion
Our data demonstrate that the ionic paired salicylic acid with L‐carnitine can overcome the limitations of salicylic acid at low concentration and natural skin pH. Based on the dual administration effects, we suggest that IP‐BHA and magnolol may be the potential agent for acne by improving inflammatory skin condition.
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