Microneedling with a Novel, n-3-PUFA-Rich Formulation Accelerates Inflammation Resolution to Improve Skin Recovery Outcomes in Adults with Healthy Skin.

INTRODUCTION: Microneedling is a cosmetic procedure that leverages the skin's natural ability to heal in order to promote collagen formation and skin rejuvenation. To provide improved results, the technique can be combined with topical formulations. A new formulation of multiple actives, including omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), was designed to accelerate the resolution of inflammation and wound healing following micro-injury treatments, while enhancing the visible appearance of procedure results, including erythema, luminosity and skin texture. METHODS: In this randomised, controlled, split-face study, we examined 32 healthy female participants aged 30-70 years for 4 weeks following microneedling treatment with a novel multiple-active-ingredient formulation or conventional microneedling protocol with a hyaluronic acid control serum. Changes in skin condition were assessed by blinded clinical photography and expert evaluation. Measurements were collected at baseline, 1 h, 1 day, 7 days and 28 days post treatment. RESULTS: Significantly greater improvements in expert-assessed erythema, luminosity and skin texture were reported following application of the novel multiple-active-ingredient formulation than the hyaluronic acid control serum. This was confirmed by representative VISIA®-CR imaging. CONCLUSION: These data provide new evidence for the role of a novel multiple-active-ingredient formulation for improving skin outcomes up to 28 days following microneedling in adults with healthy skin when compared with a hyaluronic acid serum. The n-3 PUFA content of this formulation may drive accelerated inflammation resolution and wound healing alongside the complementary action of the other active ingredients, leading to the observed improvements in erythema, luminosity and skin texture.

Interfacial rheological properties of recombinant spider-silk proteins.

Freestanding protein films are interesting for many applications ranging from microencapsulation to tissue engineering. Here, the authors use interfacial rheology to characterize the adsorption kinetics and the rheology of spider-silk films formed at an oil water interface. The high surface activity of the engineered spider-silk proteins results in a fast formation of highly stable films, which can be modified by the addition of phosphate ions to the solution.

Permeability of silk microcapsules made by the interfacial adsorption of protein.

The assembly of colloidal particles at a liquid/liquid interface is a useful technique for the formation of a large variety of structures. Recently, we created a new method which uses liquid/liquid interfaces to assemble recombinant silk proteins into thin-shelled microcapsules. These microcapsules are mechanically stable and well suited to applications such as enzyme therapy and artificial cells. In this paper the permeability properties of these microcapsules are investigated using a novel measurement technique. It is found that the microcapsules are polydisperse in their permeabilities, but for all measured microcapsules the permeability is in the range required to protect encapsulants from immunoglobulin proteins, while allowing small molecules to enter the capsule freely.