Consider a skin cream that repairs the damage done during the day when your skin is exposed to the sun or environmental toxins. This is the potential of biomimetic synthetic melanin developed by scientists at Northwestern University.
In a new study by scientists, synthetic melanin, which mimics the natural melanin found in human skin, can be applied topically to damaged skin, allowing it to heal faster. These effects occur on the skin and on the body system.
Scientists say that when applied to a cream, synthetic melanin protects skin from sun damage and heals skin damaged by sun or chemical burns. This technology works by eliminating free radicals caused by skin damage such as sunburn. If left unchecked, free radical activity damages cells and eventually causes skin aging and skin cancer.
The study, titled "Synthetic Melanin Improves Tissue Repair," was published Nov. 2 in npj Regenerative Medicine .
Melanin in humans and animals provides skin, eye and hair color. The substance protects cells from sun damage by reacting to sunlight (sunlight process). The same pigment found in the skin naturally neutralizes free radicals in response to harmful environmental pollution from industrial sources and automobile exhaust.
"People don't think of their daily life as skin damage," said co-author Dr. Kurt Lo, a professor of dermatology at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine and a dermatologist at Northwestern Medical University.
"If you're walking barefoot in the sun every day, you're constantly being bombarded with low-intensity UV rays. This is exacerbated at nighttime and in the summer. We know that skin exposed to the sun ages compared to skin protected by clothing. It's not as protected." It shows age.
The skin is damaged due to aging and external environmental factors, including pollution.
"All these attacks on the skin cause free radicals, which cause inflammation and destroy collagen," Lu said. "This is one reason why aging skin is so different from young skin."
When scientists created synthetic nanoparticles containing melanin, they altered the melanin to have a greater ability to scavenge free radicals.
"Synthetic melanin can scavenge more radicals per gram than human melanin," said co-author Nathan Giannici, professor of chemistry, materials science and engineering, biomedical engineering and pharmacology at Northwestern University. “It's like supermelanin. It is biodegradable, biodegradable, non-toxic and transparent when massaged into the skin. In our study, as an effective sponge, it removes harmful substances and protects the skin.
After applying to the skin, melanin remains on the surface and does not penetrate into the lower layers.
"Synthetic melanin stabilizes the skin and leads to the healing process that we see in the upper layers and in the body as a whole," Giannisci said.
Transition to a new theory
Scientists who have been studying melanin for 10 years have tested synthetic melanin as a sunscreen for the first time.
"It protects the skin and skin cells from damage," Giannici said. "We then asked whether synthetic melanin, which neutralizes radicals, could be applied topically after skin damage and have a healing effect on the skin. It seems to work that way."
Lu suggests using a synthetic melanin cream as a sunscreen for extra protection and as a moisturizer for skin repair.
"You can wear it before and after you go out in the sun," says Lu. "In both cases, we've shown a reduction in skin damage and inflammation. The skin is protected and restored at the same time. It's a continuous recovery."
The cream can be used to treat blisters and open wounds, says Lu.
Seasonal cream stabilizes the immune system.
Gianishi and Lu discovered that synthetic melanin cream calms the immune system by releasing free radicals after injury. The stratum corneum, the outer layer of mature skin cells, is connected to the underlying epidermis. It is the upper layer that receives signals from the body and the outside world. By calming the destructive inflammation on this surface, the body can begin to heal rather than burn itself out further.
"The skin and the upper layers are connected to the whole body," Lu said. "This means that stabilizing these surface layers can lead to an active healing process."
How did the experiment go?
Scientists used a chemical to cause foam to form in a sample of human skin tissue in a dish. Acne appears when the upper layer of skin separates from each other.
"It was very swollen, like a reaction to poison ivy," Lowe said.
Wait for a few hours and then use melanin cream on the affected skin area. Initially, the cream eased the immune response by restoring the skin's enzymes that destroy free radicals and then stopping the production of protein proteins. This started a chain reaction where they saw much higher healing rates. This includes protecting the healthy layers of skin underneath. In the samples not treated with melanin cream, acne did not stop.
"The treatment initiates a cycle of healing and repair controlled by the skin's immune system," he said.
Melanin can protect people from toxins, including nerve gas.
Giannici and Lu's research involves studying melanin as a dye in clothing to neutralize environmental toxins, particularly nerve gases. They have shown that military uniforms can be dyed black using melanin and that it absorbs nerve gas.
Melanin also absorbs heavy metals and toxins.
"Although it may have this behavior in nature, we have engineered it to improve the absorption of these toxic molecules in our synthetic version," Giannisci said.
Scientists are conducting translational and clinical trials to test the effectiveness of melanin cream. Artificial melanin does not irritate human skin, according to a preliminary study by scientists recently.
Because melanin protects biological tissues from high-energy radiation, they suspect it may be an effective treatment for skin burns caused by radiation exposure.
In addition, this promising work may provide treatment options for cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy in the future.
Other Northwestern contributors include: Doreen Byashev, Zofia Siwicka, Omi Onai, Michael Demchuk, Madison Ernst, Spencer Evans, Cuong Nguyen, Florencia Son, Navjet Paul, Naniki McCallum, Omar Farha, Stephen Miller and Dan Shaw.
More information: Topical application of synthetic melanin promotes tissue repair, npj Regenerative Medicine (2023).
Citation : "Super Melanin" Heals Skin Injuries Caused by Sun and Chemical Burns (November 2, 2023), Retrieved November 2, 2023 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-11-super-melanin-skin-injuries - Sunburn. Programming language
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