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Nanoscale Cosmetics "In skin care, the most obvious example is sunscreen, which can contain nanoscale titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. There is a great possibility you are already using and selling products with nanoscale ingredients in your day spa," says Dr. Adam Friedman, vice president of the Nanodermatology Society and director of dermatologic research at the Montefiore - Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "To be more effective, skincare professionals need to educate themselves on this growing product category." Nanotechnology is generally defined as the science of working with atoms and molecules at the nanoscale—1 to 100 nanometers (nm). A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter; you would need to stack 100,000 nanometer-size particles to create a film as thick as a piece of paper. Cells and bacteria are measured in micrometers; they can be seen only with the aid of a microscope. A nanometer is smaller, just one-thousandth of a micrometer. Nanoparticles are visible only through very highpower electronic microscopes. The introduction of these instruments in the 1990s led to a cascade of scientific discoveries, especially in biomedicine, where nanoscale functions are common. Ribosomes, for example, which are located within cells, are nanoscale factories that take the raw materials we provide in the form of food and turn them into the proteins needed to form hair, nails and skin. TALKING POINTS As with any new area of science, one of the first problems is developing a precise and standardized vocabulary. While most scientists agree that size is the determining factor in nanotechnology, some want different definitions based on whether we are discussing industrial nanotechnology or life sciences. "In the biomedical field, nanotechnology is not as much about the science of manipulating matter on a nanoparticle level as it is about assembling targeted, biologically active complexes (nanocomplexes) with previously unavailable biological effects and using nanoscale quantities of biologically active substances in a very precise way to imitate or model physiological Naming Nanomaterials Here are definitions for a few of the nanomaterials currently being tested for or used in cosmetic formulations: Nanoemulsions are dispersions of nanoscale droplets of one liquid inside another, such as oil and water. Their smaller particle size provides higher stability and better suitability to carry active ingredients; they also increase the shelf life of a product. Liposomes are bubble-like structures with the ability to carry both water-soluble and -insoluble substances into desired environments. They have been used in cosmetics for decades and have given rise to a whole group of nanomaterials that now include transferosomes, niosomes and ethosomes. Solid lipid nanoparticles are droplets of lipids that are solid at body temperature. They protect encapsulated ingredients, such as vitamin C and retinol, from degradation, improve penetration and allow for controlled delivery of cosmetic agents over a prolonged period. 82 DAYSPA | FEBRUARY 2013 Nanocapsules consist of a shell with a space inside that can carry a variety of nanoscale ingredients. The polymer shell can actually decrease penetration, holding active ingredients on the skin's surface. Nanocrystals are atom clusters. Typical sizes of these aggregates are between 10 and 400 nm, and they exhibit physical and chemical properties somewhere between that of bulk solids and molecules. Nanometals act in a variety of ways. Scientists have long known that as nanoparticles of silver oxidize, they produce ions that are deadly to bacteria. Silver nanoparticles are used as antimicrobials in cosmetics, on fabrics and as coatings for personal care items. Nanoparticles of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are used in sunscreens. Nanoparticles of gold can be used as catalysts. Buckyballs, or fullerene C60, is perhaps the most iconic nanomaterial. At 1 nm, it has a capacity to behave as a potent scavenger of free radicals and has found its way into some very expensive face creams. Dendrimers consist of a core, an inner shell, and an outer shell in a symmetrical branching structure. Each portion can have different functionality to control properties such as solubility and thermal stability. They are often used in drug delivery. Gold nanoshells consist of nanoscale silica particles coated with a thin layer of nanoscale gold. The ability of gold to scatter light at specific frequencies allows gold nanoshells to respond to nearinfrared light that can pass through human tissue. Hydrogels are a network of natural or synthetic polymer chains that swell in water or other fluids without dissolving. High water content gives them flexibility similar to natural tissues, which makes them excellent scaffolds for live cells used in tissue repair. So-called "smart gels" can sense changes in temperature, pH and concentration of metabolite, and release their load based on a specific change.