Computational Biology and 3D tissue tests help improve treatments that reduce the signs of aging.
To develop products that promote skin treatment, it is fundamental to understand what the skin needs. The more you know about the reactions and transformations that happen in the skin tissue, the greater the chance of precisely targeting its needs. It was with this premise in mind that the Advanced Cosmetic Technologies Research Team at Natura pioneered ambitious projects involving computational biology tools and the development of a new 3D tissue product testing method to improve skin treatments in the new Chronos Line, the results are tangible.
The first challenge taken on by the researchers of Natura was to assemble a variety of human skin samples, therefore, allowing them to identify patterns of transformations and reactions that are repeated. "We wanted to understand better what biological events are frequent in each age group. The Chronos Line develops products for women in the age range of 30, 45, 60 and 70 years, and each of these skin types has different needs. We wanted to identify with more precision what these requirements were," explained Daniela Zimbardi, a Natura researcher. But the work to gather and evaluate all these diverse samples would take a long time so boinformatics was the solution.
By utilizing computational biology tools, the Natura team searched throughout the literature and the international scientific research banks to gather proteomics technologies data from more than 850 samples of healthy skin biopsies that were used in studies around the world. "We collected the raw data from each of these studies and treated this information with specific filters, to identify which molecular mechanisms of the skin we would be able to associate with each age group, namely, which mechanisms begin to change in our skin and when," Daniela stated.
After seven months, the team had already mapped out a chart with the most frequent reactions and modulations in each skin age group. "We identified more precisely the moment that each important biological mechanism for the skin begins to be altered as a result of aging. For example, we defined when inflammatory reactions start to emerge, when there are oxidative stress levels when there is a reduction in essential proteins such as elastin and collagen, among other various reactions," the researcher said.
The New Methodology of the Testing
With more clarity about the needs of each skin type the task now was to develop improved treatment products further, with formulas aligned to the new findings. "We already knew what molecular changes in the skin needed to be treated and we now wanted to know if our products were acting in the best way to meet this goal," highlighted Daniela.
The researchers already knew that even though in several circumstances in vitro tests can be very efficient in this particular case they would be of limited value. In vitro tests did not permit the analysis of the application of the final product on the skin. It was possible to analyze the effectiveness of the components of the isolated formula, but not the complete product. On the other hand in vivo tests, in human volunteers, have not allowed a molecular view of the effects of the product. To resolve the issue, the Advanced Research Team developed a new methodology by using skin samples left over from plastic surgeries.
"The remaining skin from a plastic surgery maintains its functions for approximately ten days. Thus, we obtained a more accurate testing model, which supported the 3D structural design of the tissue, while simultaneously allowing the application of the final product and the analysis of its reactions at the molecular level. With these results, we succeeded in improving our formulas, by evaluating the quality of the active ingredient combinations and we have been much more confident in the development of our new Chronos Line," explained Daniela.
The findings of both cases were applied in the formulation of the new Chronos Line, enabling the product to have better results. "Today, we know exactly how the Chronos Line acts to ensure greater skin elasticity. For example, we can now prove the effectiveness of our product and develop formulas that are increasingly more aligned with the needs of each age group." Daniela celebrated.
These discoveries will also be useful for the development of other skin-care lines. "We always rely on computational biology because it has promptly responded to our research needs. We also see the consolidation of our 3D tissue testing methodologies as a very widely used technology within our company for evaluating not only our active ingredients but also the formula as a whole," conclude the researcher.
Learn more:
Development of the new Chronos Line
Jatobá extract: The transformation of a native seed of the Cerrado into an active anti-aging signs ingredient.
Casearia (a plant from the Salicaceae family): the medicinal plant that turned into an active anti-aging ingredient.
Learn how :
Area of pharmaceutical formulation created and developed the new Chronos Line.
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