To develop products that truly promote skin treatment, it is essential to understand what it needs. The more one comprehends the reactions and transformations that occur in this tissue, the greater the chance of acting with precision. It was with this premise that the team from the Advanced Cosmetic Technology Research area at Natura initiated some bold projects that involved computational biology tools and the development of a new methodology for testing products on 3D tissue. The results can be felt in the new Chronos.
The first challenge taken on by Natura's researchers was to gather a variety of human skin samples that would allow them to identify patterns of transformations and reactions that repeat. “We wanted to better understand which biological events are frequent in each age group. Chronos develops products for women in their 30s, 45, 60, and 70s, and each of these skins has different needs. We wanted to identify more precisely what those needs are,” explains Daniela Zimbardi, a researcher at Natura. However, the work to gather and evaluate all this diversity of samples could take a long time. The solution came through bioinformatics.
Using computational biology tools, the Natura team searched through the literature and international scientific research databases to gather transcriptomic data from over 850 samples of healthy skin biopsies that were used in studies around the world. “We gathered the raw data from each of these studies and processed this information with specific filters to identify which molecular mechanisms of the skin we could associate with each age group, that is, which mechanisms start to change in our skin and from what moment,” states Daniela.
After seven months, the team had already mapped out the most frequent reactions and modulations in each age group of skin. “We identified more precisely the moment when each important biological mechanism for the skin begins to be altered due to aging; for example, we defined when inflammatory reactions start to emerge, when there are events of oxidative stress, when there is a reduction in important proteins like elastin and collagen, among various other reactions,” says the researcher.
A new testing methodology
With more clarity about the needs of each skin, the task now was to develop even more advanced treatment products, with formulas aligned to the new discoveries. “We already knew which molecular alterations of the skin needed to be addressed, and now we wanted to know if our products were acting in the best way to meet this goal,” highlights Daniela.
The researchers already knew that in vitro tests, very efficient in various scenarios, had a limitation in this case. They did not allow for the analysis of the final product's application on the skin. It was possible to analyze the efficacy of the isolated components of the formula, but not the complete product. On the other hand, in vivo tests, on human volunteers, did not allow for a molecular view of the product's effects. To solve this issue, the Advanced Research team developed a new methodology using leftover skin samples from plastic surgeries.
“The leftover skin from plastic surgery maintains its functions for approximately ten days. Thus, we achieved a more realistic model that maintained the 3D architecture of the tissue, and that simultaneously allowed the application of the final product and the molecular-level analysis of the reactions to these applications. With this information, we were able to refine formulas, evaluate combinations of actives, and be much more accurate in the development of the new Chronos,” explains Daniela.
The results of both efforts were applied in the formulation of the new Chronos, enabling the product to have much more precise effects. “Today, we can say exactly how an active ingredient in Chronos works to ensure more elasticity for the skin, for example. We can prove the effects of the product and develop formulas that are increasingly aligned with the needs of each age group,” celebrates Daniela.
The discoveries will also be useful for the development of other lines. “We have always invested in computational biology, which has responded quickly to our needs. We also see the consolidation of 3D tissue testing methodologies, a technology widely used within our company in evaluating our actives and, now, also complete formulas,” concludes the researcher.
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Learn how the formulation area contributed to the development of the new Chronos
