Development of an in vivo and non-invasive process for quantifying hyaluronic acid in human skin

• Grant number: 20/00928-7
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Duration: February 01, 2021 - October 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Biomedical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Lázaro Pinto Medeiros Neto
• Grantee: Lázaro Pinto Medeiros Neto
• Host Company: Probes Inovação e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico Ltda. - ME
• CNAE: Pesquisa e desenvolvimento experimental em ciências físicas e naturais
• City: São José dos Campos
• Pesquisadores principais: Airton Abrahao Martin
• Associated researchers: Felipe Bachion de Santana ; Gustavo Carlos da Silva ; Lívia Assis Garcia
• Associated grant(s): 21/14696-3 - In vivo and non-invasive detection of the effects of the use of products on hyaluronic acid in human skin, AP.PIPE
• Associated scholarship(s): 21/02667-9 - Development of an in vivo and non-invasive process for quantifying hyaluronic acid in human skin, BP.PIPE

Abstract

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a natural biopolymer in the human body is formed by glucuronic acid and N-acetylglycosamine. In the skin, its main characteristic is to guarantee elasticity, firmness and hydration, since it acts by filling the intracellular spaces, providing a youthful aspect. Its presence is directly related to skin aging, whose main manifestation is the appearance of wrinkles. The monitoring of this element in human skin in vivo and non-invasively is of great commercial importance, as it allows greater knowledge about the skin aging process and will allow the development of more effective cosmetic products. The evaluation of endogenous components in the skin allows a greater understanding of numerous physiological processes, such as skin aging. One of the essential elements for ensuring a firm and healthy skin is HA. Changes in your concentration can accelerate the appearance of wrinkles and expression marks. Currently, for the assessment of the presence of HA to be done, invasive procedures, such as biopsies, must be performed. Therefore, the development of validated in vivo and non-invasive processes for the application of the Raman confocal spectroscopy (ERC) technique in the evaluation of endogenous HA will allow a fast, safe and free analysis of invasive procedures on human skin. This new validated process will lead to greater market acceptance, mainly by cosmeceutical companies, in the use of ERC to evaluate this component in human skin in vivo. In this way, this research project proposes the development and validation of a new process for the evaluation of the concentration of endogenous hyaluronic acid in human skin using the Raman confocal spectroscopy (ERC) technique in vivo, associated with the immunohistochemistry (IHC) technique, which is the gold standard for assessing the presence of hyaluronic acid in human skin. In summary, the analysis will evaluate the skin in vivo of study participants in different age groups by the ERC technique, in order to establish parameters of HA concentration in the skin at different ages, as well as the distribution of this element in the different layers of the human skin. At the site analyzed by ERC, a punch biopsy will be performed for further analysis using IHC techniques and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining to confirm the results found. It is expected, in this phase 1 study, that the ERC technique identifies the presence of endogenous HA in human skin in vivo, and that these results are corroborated by the IHC technique. It must be considered that the development and validation of the process for assessing the presence of HA by ERC in the skin will be of great importance, since it will allow a real-time, in vivo, fast analysis without invasive procedures, that is, without the need for biopsies as in the IHC technique. In addition, with regard to the evaluation of human skin, the company DermoProbes is a pioneer in Brazil, using the Raman spectroscopy technique to identify the presence of various components, as well as the effect of products applied on the skin and other attachments.Therefore, the validation of ERC to determine the concentration of HA will open a new market for DermoProbes and provide a greater confidence of companies in the market to accept the ERC technique in the assessment of HA in the skin, as well as allow a better understanding of the aging process caused by its deficiency. With this, HA-based products can be developed with greater precision to stimulate skin rejuvenation, whose effectiveness effects can be evaluated by ERC. (AU)