Development of a new bioinspired peptide with fibroblast relaxation proprieties for cosmetics applications

Abstract

The cosmetic field is driven by the development of new inputs and raw materials that are used to the development innovative products for consumers. Among the different sub-areas in cosmetology, skin care is the biggest area, with almost fifty percent of the market, and probably the most innovative of them. Thus, there is a complex value chain organized to develop and produce innovative inputs to supply the demands of the market. Within this context, different basic scientific areas, such as biochemistry and biotechnology, have been a source of inspiration for new active ingredients. In the present article, we will present the pre-clinical and clinical trials involved in the development of a new innovative biomimetic peptide derived from natural wasp venoms content. This new peptide sequence, here named WASP-PEP was designed based on natural peptide templates with some strategic amino acid modifications to increase the molecule's effectiveness. As the main results, we observed that the WASP-PEP is a biocompatible and dermatology tolerate compound, and the peptide can promote some relaxation effects in dermal fibroblasts. This relaxation effect is compatible with a kind of regulated and cumulative botox-like effect. Notablyr, this relaxation effect was also observed in the clinical trial, when volunteer subjects reported that their facial skin was flatter after the use of the WASP-PEP product for one month.