Research front | nano diamond in analyzing the application of skin penetration brings new progress of medical beauty

Skin is one of the largest and most accessible organs in the human body, but penetrating deep into it for medical and cosmetic treatments remains a scientific challenge. Recently, researchers from Bar-Ilan University in Israel have developed a new approach that offers an innovative solution to overcome these two challenges. Combining nanotechnology and optics, they produced nano-diamond particles (NDs) that are so small they are able to penetrate the skin to deliver medical and cosmetic medicines. In addition, they have created a safe, laser-based optical method that can quantify the extent to which nanodiamonds penetrate the layers of skin and determine their location and concentration in body tissues in a non-invasive manner, thus avoiding biopsy. The innovation has just been published in the ACS Nano in collaboration with researchers from the university's Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials.

In this study, the team used an iterative multiplane optical property extraction (IMOPE) technique to detect the presence of NDs in a tissue-like mold. In addition, in vitro pig skin experiments were conducted to estimate the penetration of NDs into different skin layers and to show that their presence is reduced at deeper depths. The significance signal of NDs in epidermis, dermis and adipose layer was gradually weakened, and the significance value of T-test was less than 10-4, 10-3 and 10-2, respectively. The results of IMOPE were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and franz cell assay. These results confirm IMOPE's noninvasive characterization of skin penetration of NDs.

Figure 1. Nanodiamond applied to skin sample and penetrating all skin layers: Nanodiamond concentration decreases with layer depth.

1. Nanodiamond and drug delivery

Much like trucks delivering goods, synthetic diamonds can deliver a variety of drugs to their intended targets, and because of nanodiamonds' tiny size, their distance and location can be controlled. The use of nanoparticles for drug delivery has proved successful in previous studies. Nano-diamonds newly developed at Bar-Ilan University have also been shown to be effective antioxidants. This property ensures that particles that penetrate the body are both safe and therapeutic, as their chemical properties allow them to be coated with drugs before being inserted into the body.

Figure 2. (a) TEM image of fNDs including cerium anti-agglomeration coating, and b) TEM image of uncoated NDs polymerization.

2. Optical tracking of nanodiamond

The optical method developed by the research team allowed them to identify the relative concentrations of nano-diamond particles in different layers of skin (epidermis, dermis and fat) through safe and non-invasive sensing based on blue wavelength lasers. This in itself is a unique finding, given that red wavelength lasers are commonly used in human medical examinations and treatments. To determine their location and concentration in the skin, patients were briefly exposed to a blue laser beam. The optical system creates photo-like 3D images through which optical changes in the processed tissue can be extracted and compared with adjacent, untreated tissue using a specialized algorithm.

Figure 3. 3D sensing image of human skin created by optical system

"This is a major development in the field of dermatology and optical engineering," said the member of Bar-Ilan University's Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials research team. "This will open the door to the development of medicines that can be applied through the skin as well as modern beauty preparations using advanced nanotechnology." With the assistance of the researchers, the importance of optical innovation in clinical applications has been demonstrated.

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