Skin-protective effects of a zinc oxide-functionalized textile and its relevance for atopic dermatitis

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the impairment of the skin-barrier function, increased oxidative cellular stress, and bacterial colonization. Hence, medical therapies of AD aim to control infection, reduce inflammation, and restore skin-barrier function by use of topical and systemic antibacterial drugs, topical corticosteroids, topical calcineurin inhibitors, and moisturizers. Textiles have the longest and most intense contact with the human skin, and functional textiles with intrinsic properties such as antioxidative capacity and antibacterial activity have been gaining in importance in medical applications. Specially designed textiles may support AD treatment and improve quality of life of AD. Here, we investigated the role of ZnO-functionalized textile fibers in the control of oxidative stress in AD in vitro and in vivo. In addition, the antibacterial effect and biocompatibility of the Zn textile was evaluated in vitro. We observed a rapid improvement of AD severity, pruritus, and subjective sleep quality when AD patients wore the ZnO textiles overnight on 3 consecutive days. This is possibly due to the high antioxidative capacity of the ZnO textile, as well as the allocation of strong antibacterial activity. Moreover, it was shown that the ZnO textiles possess very good biocompatibility and were well tolerated by AD patients.

Association between itching and the serum zinc levels in patients with varicose veins

“…In recent years, it has been considered that zinc deficiency contributes to various skin conditions such as xerosis and acrodermatitis enteropathica [16, 17]. There is a report that zinc deficiency affects the skin barrier and the immune system and is considered a factor that exacerbates atopic dermatitis [18]. In addition, decrease in serum zinc and increase in histamine levels were observed in dialysis patients experiencing itching, indicating a negative correlation between zinc and histamine levels in these patients [12].…”

A Real-Life Based Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Antibacterial Fabrics in Treating Atopic Dermatitis

“…To objectively measure the potential antibacterial efficacy of antibacterial fabrics against a S. aureus strain, 5 commercial clothes were enrolled that have documented clinical benefits in treating atopic dermatitis in published reports: Sample #1 (Lyo-Zinc): Benevit Zinc+ (Benevit Van Clewe, Dingden, Germany) which consists of 74% lyocell, 19% SmartCell sensitive fibre, and 7% spandex [16]. Sample #2 (Silk-Aegis): Microair Dermasilk, a pure form of silk consisting exclusively of fibroin and containing a finish of AEGIS AEM 5772/5, an insoluble colorless, odorless ammonium as antibacterial agent [5, 13].…”

“…However, whereas some fabrics such as cotton and silk garments tend to reduce scratching by smooth fibre types, a subset of garments have been specifically designed, claiming to reduce the intensity of the eczemas by modulating the skin staphylococcal profile via an antibacterial activity [12, 13]. Some antibacterial clothes therefore use the deposition or incorporation of metallic silver or silver compounds in or onto synthetic fibres [14], whereas others use zinc or quaternary ammonium as antibacterial agents [15, 16]. Subsequently, a number of clinical trials (randomized controlled or observational) were conducted using antibacterial clothes for AD treatment, most of which claimed skin improvements in SCORAD, fewer symptoms, or reduced itching.…”

The Impact of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Male (In)Fertility

“…They may also offer a plausible solution for cancer and various types of inflammation treatment using, for instance, UV rays with minimal side-effects [39,[48][49][50]. Interesting studies regarding atopic dermatitis revealed that ZnO NPs treatment decreases local skin inflammation on a mouse model with atopic dermatitis [51] and patients with atopic dermatitis [52], as a result of the anti-inflammatory properties of ZnO NPs [51,52], as well as high antioxidative and anti-bacterial capacities [52].…”