Study on skin roughness caused by surfactants: II. Correlation between protein denaturation and skin roughness

Abstract

An attempt to determine protein denaturing potency of typical surfactants has been made by measuring specific rotation of bovine serum albumin. The potencies obtained were examined in relation to the intensities of skin roughness in vivo caused by the surfactants, and a noticeable correlation was found between them. This fact also suggested that the cause of skin roughness may be attributed to a certain extent to adsorption of surfactants. In addition, this technique is very useful in predicting the skin roughening potency of a surfactant without using human skin.

Role of macromolecules in the safety of use of body wash cosmetics

“…Nonionic, cationic and amphoteric surfactants used alone have a very minor effect on BSA. The results obtained by Imokawa et al [36] and Tavess et al [37] corresponded to the results of the zein test and collagen swelling, which demonstrates the suitability of the method for the estimation of the irritant potential . An increase in the pH of the solution observed in such systems is caused by the neutralization of cationic BSA groups by anionic surfactants, and the adsorption of protons from the solvent (water) by negatively charged groups in the protein molecule [36][37][38].…”

“…The results are shown in Figure 5. M a n u s c r i p t Imokawa et al [36] and Tavess et al [37] proposed investigating changes in the pH level of the BSA solution as a method of predicting the irritant potential of the surfactant added to the BSA solution. The researchers demonstrated the suitability of the method for the assessment of the irritant potential of anionic surfactants and their mixtures with other surfactants.…”

Topical Surfactant-Induced Pruritus: Involvement of Histamine Released from Epidermal Keratinocytes

“…Many cleansers contain surfactants, and repeated exposure to these surfactants can cause allergic contact dermatitis (Inoue et al, 2008) and irritant contact dermatitis (Wigger-Alberti et al, 2000). Surfactants irritate the skin through several mechanisms, including interaction with keratin (Imokawa et al, 1975) and changing lipid structure and barrier function (Wihelm et al, 1994;Ananthapadmanabhan et al, 2004). Cutaneous irritation is dependent on the duration and frequency of surfactant exposure and the concentration and type of surfactant.…”

Stratum corneum Lipid Removal by Surfactants: Relation to in vivo Irritation

“…The mechanism of irritation in these cases is less clear than with erythema, and a perturbation of epidermal lipid may be a causative factor along with keratin dénaturation. Imokawa et al [5] studied the interaction of surfactants with bovine serum albumin to better understand the effect of surfactants on skin protein. Using a variety of cationic, anionic and zwitterionic surfactants, they demonstrated a correlation between the binding and denaturing effects of these sur factants in vitro and their skin-roughening potential in vivo.…”

“…The mechanism(s) w'hcreby surfactants elicit these effects is not fully understood, it has been suggested that protein denaturation and inhibi tion of enzyme activity arc implicated in surfactant effects. Other proposed mechanisms include surfactantinduced removal of essential components of the skin such as free amino acids and other hygroscopic species or of intercellular lipid [5].…”