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Hair care and treatment has evolved significantly through the years as new formulations are continuously being explored in an attempt to meet the demand in cosmetic and medicinal fields. While standard hair care procedures include hair washing, aimed at hair cleansing and maintenance, as well as hair dyeing and bleaching formulations for hair embellishment, modern hair treatments are mainly focused on circumventing hair loss conditions, strengthening hair follicle properties and treat hair infestations. In this regard, active compounds (ACs) included in hair cosmetic formulations include a vast array of hair cleansing and hair dye molecules, and typical hair treatments include anti-hair loss ACs (e.g. minoxidil and finasteride) and anti-lice ACs (e.g. permethrin). However, several challenges still persist, as conventional AC formulations exhibit sub-optimal performance and some may present toxicity issues, calling for an improved design of formulations regarding both efficacy and safety. More recently, nano-based strategies encompassing nanomaterials have emerged as promising tailored approaches to improve the performance of ACs incorporated into hair cosmetics and treatment formulations. The interest in using these nanomaterials is based on account of their ability to: (1) increase stability, safety and biocompatibility of ACs; (2) maximize hair affinity, contact and retention, acting as versatile biointerfaces; (3) enable the controlled release of ACs in both hair and scalp, serving as prolonged AC reservoirs; besides offering (4) hair follicle targeting features attending to the possibility of surface tunability. This review covers the breakthrough of nanomaterials for hair cosmetics and hair treatment, focusing on organic nanomaterials (polymer-based and lipid-based nanoparticles) and inorganic nanomaterials (nanosheets, nanotubes and inorganic nanoparticles), as well as their applications, highlighting their potential as innovative multifunctional nanomaterials towards maximized hair care and treatment. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: This manuscript is focused on reviewing the nanotechnological strategies investigated for hair care and treatment so far. While conventional formulations exhibit sub-optimal performance and some may present toxicity issues, the selection of improved and suitable nanodelivery systems is of utmost relevance to ensure a proper active ingredient release in both hair and scalp, maximize hair affinity, contact and retention, and provide hair follicle targeting features, warranting stability, efficacy and safety. This innovative manuscript highlights the advantages of nanotechnology-based approaches, particularly as tunable and versatile biointerfaces, and their applications as innovative multifunctional nanomaterials towards maximized hair care and treatment.

Development of multifunctional 3D patches with appropriate antibacterial and biocompatible properties is needed to deal with wound care regeneration. Combining gelatin-based hydrogel with a well-known natural antibacterial honey (Manuka honey, MH) in a 3D patch can provide improved printability and at the same time provide favourable biological effects that may be useful in regenerative wound treatment. In this study, an antibacterial Manuka-Gelatin 3D patches was developed by an extrusion-based printing process, with controlled porosity, high shape fidelity, and structural stability. It was demonstrated the antibacterial activity of Manuka-Gelatin 3D patches against both gram-positive bacteria (S. epidermidis and S. aureus) and gram-negative (E. coli), common in wound infection. The 3D Manuka-Gelatin base patches demonstrated antibacterial activity, and moreover enhanced the proliferation of human dermal fibroblasts and human epidermal keratinocytes, and promotion of angiogenesis. Moreover, the ease of printing achieved by the addition of honey, coupled with the interesting biological response obtained, makes this 3D patch a good candidate for wound healing applications.

Background The convergence of food and cosmetics in the beauty industry is a major trend in the recent years, gaining an enormous importance on consumer habits including the diet, the nutritional supplement intake and food-based cosmetics. Scope and approach An overview about the concept of nutricosmetics is here presented, and how food and skin convergence trends the cosmetic industry. Examples of recently developed products are given. Key findings Food ingredients are being included in cosmetics and other personal care products with the aim of bringing into cosmetic products certain benefits of food ingredients. Moreover, due to the recommendation of the circular economy implementation, an approach to economic growth that is in line with sustainable environmental and economic development, a large number of food industry wastes are being recovered as added-value products by more sustainable and innovative extraction processes to be incorporated into cosmetic products amongst others. Although the potential of bioactive compounds extracted from food is already known, the specific biological activity is now being studied and reported. Conclusions Natural active food-derived ingredients are marketed as having several benefits on the skin. Their incorporation in food supplements and cosmetics is a reality already marketed. The truth about the benefits of food ingredients in cosmetics is not always properly discussed. The trend of “beauty from within” by oral supplementation is now accompanying the other trend that is “from the kitchen table to the skin”, that refers to the possibility to create cosmetics with the ordinary ingredients one have in the kitchen.

In recent years, sustainability on the cosmetics industry has received growing interest from consumers, cosmetics industries and organizations, as well as academics from various disciplinary fields. Increasing concerns about cosmetics safety, environmental impacts as deforestation and social impacts as those resulting from unfair trade have intensified attention given to such topic. While sustainability impacts occur through all phases of the cosmetic product life cycle, selection of raw materials is deserving of greater attention as information on this topic remains scattered and diffuse. Formulating with alternative ingredients considered more sustainable can be quite challenging due to possible lack of performance, instability and aesthetic limitations normally associated with their use. This paper discusses the relation between sustainability and the cosmetics industry, the factors stimulating the developments on this field, the need to assess those and the available tools, alongside with the sustainability impacts produced during all the product life cycle. The analysis reveals cosmetics sustainability as a complex and multifaceted issue that cannot be evaluated considering single aspects, but using an integrated assessment about the environmental, social and economical dimensions and about the final product quality and performance.

One of the exciting future directions in the 3D printing field is the development of innovative personalized smart constructions for bio-applications, including drug delivery, namely high-throughput drug screening and customized topical/oral administration of pharmaceuticals, as well as tissue engineering. In this context, hydrogels have emerged as a promising material that, when combined with extrusion 3D printing, allow the creation of soft-material structures with defined spatial locations, that can be printed at room temperature and customized by tuning the geometric design and/or the formulation components. Thus, the efficacy and quality of such vehicles is dependent on formulation, design, and printing process parameters. However, hydrogel inks are often designed and characterized using different methods and this lack of uniformity impairs. Characterization techniques are usually arbitrary and differ among research groups, challenging the inference of possible conclusions on hydrogel behaviour and potential applications. Therefore, to properly analyse the potential of a particular hydrogel ink formulation, we review, for the first time, the most frequently employed characterization procedures, from rheological approaches to printing parameters and settings, and discuss their relevance, limitations and drawbacks, and highlight future perspectives. Overall, to accelerate the development of high-quality 3D constructs, comprehensive characterization protocols for both pre-printing and printing assays should be adopted. Furthermore, their transversal adoption could serve as a boost in terms of quality requirements and regulatory aspects.

Quercus suber forests are very important, both economically and ecologically, in countries from the Mediterranean basin. Quercus suber bark or cork is obtained from the outer bark of this tree and it is the base of many commercial and profitable products. The industry around cork extraction and transformation leads to the production of considerable amounts of by-products, some of them considered as waste. Cork and its by-products can be an important source of multiple bioactive components, such as phenolic acids, terpenoids and tannins. These natural products present a wide variety of relevant properties, namely antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiaging, radical scavenger and depigmenting activity. Thus, cork and its by-products can be reused as promising ingredients in topical products. They may be used in different pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications, such as skin ageing prevention and skin depigmenting activity or as complements in acne treatment and skin inflammatory processes. The heterogeneity of its chemical composition and its extraordinary properties make cork a material with a lot of potential and considerable importance. Reusing and valorising cork by-products in the cosmetic field fits with the current sustainable perspective. In this literature review, the different cork by-products and their bioactive compounds are presented and the promising application of these wastes as cosmetic and pharmaceutical ingredients is analysed.

Cynara scolymus L. (CS), usually known as globe artichoke, is a Mediterranean plant with antioxidant properties due to its content of polyphenols, including caffeoylquinic and dicaffeoylquinic acids. The use of bioactive ingredients or phytochemicals extracted from plant tissues in cosmetics is increasing, thus artichoke extract due to its promising constituents can be incorporated in topical formulations. The aim of this study was the chemical characterization of different CS extracts in order to investigate the antioxidant and the sun protection potential in topical formulations. Aqueous extracts were analyzed by HPLC to quantify target compounds, such as cynarin, chlorogenic acid and cynaroside. Antioxidant activity by DPPH assay and ROS scavenging activity in HaCaT cells, as well as cytotoxicity assays and sun protection factor were assessed. The results showed that CS extract and CSC fraction, one of the purified fractions, were rich in polyphenols and presented antioxidant and photoprotective activity. Then, both fractions were incorporated in two topical formulations: O/W emulsion and hydrogel. Physicochemical characterization, microbiological control, cytotoxicity assays and ROS scavenging activity in HaCaT cells were performed to ensure the quality, safety and efficacy of the products developed. In vivo studies, Human Repeat Insult Patch Testing and an assay to determine their antioxidant capacity, were also performed. Besides the excellent antioxidant and photoprotective activity, the final formulations proved to be also suitable and safe for topical use.

Onychomycosis is a fungal nail infection. The development of new topical antifungal agents for the treatment of onychomycosis has focused on formulation enhancements that optimize the pharmacological characteristics required for its effective treatment. Polyurethanes (PUs) have never been used in therapeutic nail lacquers. The aim of this work has been the development of new PU-based nail lacquers with antifungal activity containing 1.0% (wt/wt) of terbinafine hydrochloride. The biocompatibility, wettability, and the prediction of the free volume in the polymeric matrix were assessed using a human keratinocytes cell line, contact angle, and Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy determinations, respectively. The morphology of the films obtained was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, while the nail lacquers' bioadhesion to nails was determined by mechanical tests. Viscosity, in vitro release profiles, and antifungal activity were also assessed. This study demonstrated that PU-terbinafine-based nail lacquers have good keratinocyte compatibility, good wettability properties, and adequate free volume. They formed a homogenous film after application, with suitable adhesion to the nail plate. Furthermore, the antifungal test results demonstrated that the terbinafine released from the nail lacquer Formulation A PU 19 showed activity against dermatophytes, namely Trichophyton rubrum .

Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-11T16:42:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2016-09-01 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Green coffee oil and modified starch were recently found to have an enhanced protection effect against UV radiation. Therefore, this work aimed to develop an innovative sunscreen formulation based on Pickering emulsions concept, i.e., surfactant-free emulsions stabilized by physical UV filters associated natural oils as a key strategy for prevention against UV-induced skin damage. The Pickering emulsions of different compositions were characterized in terms of pH, mechanical, physical and microbiological stability by a thorough pharmaceutical control. In addition, the sun protection factor (SPF) as well as the in vitro and in vivo biological properties of the final formulations, including Episkin®, HRIPT and sunscreen water resistance. Formulation studies demonstrated the addition of physical UV filters was beneficial, leading to the inclusion of ZnO and TiO2 to ensure a high SPF against UVA and UVB, respectively. Although starch particles presented no intrinsic photoprotection properties, they proved to be a SPF promoter by a synergistic effect. Green coffee oil was the selected natural oil due to the highest SPF, when compared to other natural oils tested. Besides the excellent sunscreen activity confirmed by in vitro and in vivo results, the final formulations proved to be also suitable for topical use according to the rheological assessment and stability throughout the study period (3 months). In conclusion, the combination of three multifunctional solid particles and green coffee oil, contributed to achieve a stable and effective innovative sunscreen with a wide range of UV radiation protection. Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.ULisboa) Faculty of Pharmacy University of Lisbon UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas Laboratórios Atral S.A. UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia: SFRH/BDE/51599/2011 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia: UID/DTP/04138/2013

Erythropoietin (EPO) is known for its neuroprotective and neuroregenerative properties. EPO topical ocular administration has not been tested yet and its bioavailability could be improved by mucoadhesive hydrogels. Thus, this study aimed to develop and evaluate a chitosan (CS) and hyaluronic acid (HA) nanoparticulate system for topical ocular delivery of EPO. Nanoparticles were prepared by ionotropic gelation using six different HAs (HA1-HA6), and characterized by size, zeta potential (ZP), polydispersity index (Pdi), cytotoxicity and mucoadhesion. Encapsulation efficiency and drug loading capacity were also determined. Ex vivo permeation was tested using fresh porcine corneas, scleras and conjunctivas. The permeated EPO was quantified by ELISA, and its presence in the membranes was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Nanoparticles (NPs) presented size ≤300 nm, ZP around +30 mV and low Pdi (0.167–0.539) at a 1:1 CS:HA mass ratio. The most suitable HA was HA6 (300 kDa – Eye), which had the best mucoadhesive properties. CS/HA6-EPO nanoformulation permeated more rapidly through porcine conjunctiva, followed by sclera and thirdly by cornea, as assessed by immunohistochemistry. All formulations were noncytotoxic on ARPE-19 and HaCaT cell lines, as evaluated by metabolic and membrane integrity tests. In conclusion, CS/HA6-EPO NPs could be a promising formulation for increasing EPO ocular bioavailability by enhancing its retention time and permeation through the different ocular membranes.