Chemical Synthesis and Characterization of Cosmeceutical Peptides for Skin Care
Disciplines
Analytical Chemistry | Organic Chemistry
Abstract (300 words maximum)
As life expectancy continues to grow, humans are looking for a way to prevent or change their looks. The demand for products to tighten skin or get rid of wrinkles opens a market for cosmeceutical industries to produce cosmetics that will enhance the skin. Reasons for skin defects can include sun exposure, genetic makeup, and getting older. While not a new development, more cosmetic formulas include chemicals such peptides, polynucleotides and alcohols so that consumers can get their desired look. Peptides are made up from a chain of Amino Acids (AA). There is a plethora of amino acids but there are 20 that are essential to the human body. Humans can produce 11 out of the 20, so the other nine need to be acquired by diet. Peptides are used to boost metabolism, wound healing, and promote weight loss. Peptides in skincare are used primarily for skin repair and to reduce the anti-aging process. Peptides regarding skincare are usually extracted from plasma and other sources. The aim of this research is to chemically synthesize some notable skincare peptides (GHK, KTTKS, and GQPR) using solid phase peptide synthesis approach and test their membrane permeability. These peptides were synthesized using rink-amide resin, then cleaved employing high percentage of TFA, and precipitated with cold-ether. Peptides were characterized by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. As these peptides are very hydrophilic in nature, they were eluted at the beginning of the reverse phase chromatography while C18 column was used. GHK showed an intense peak at m/z 340.2 which corresponds to its theoretical mass. Two peptides, KTTKS and GQPR, also demonstrated representative peaks at m/z 563.3 and 456.3, respectively which agree with the theoretical mass. The current research focuses on the membrane permeability of these peptides to ensure and improve skin penetration.
Use of AI Disclaimer
no
Academic department under which the project should be listed
CSM – Chemistry and Biochemistry
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Mohammad Halim
Chemical Synthesis and Characterization of Cosmeceutical Peptides for Skin Care
As life expectancy continues to grow, humans are looking for a way to prevent or change their looks. The demand for products to tighten skin or get rid of wrinkles opens a market for cosmeceutical industries to produce cosmetics that will enhance the skin. Reasons for skin defects can include sun exposure, genetic makeup, and getting older. While not a new development, more cosmetic formulas include chemicals such peptides, polynucleotides and alcohols so that consumers can get their desired look. Peptides are made up from a chain of Amino Acids (AA). There is a plethora of amino acids but there are 20 that are essential to the human body. Humans can produce 11 out of the 20, so the other nine need to be acquired by diet. Peptides are used to boost metabolism, wound healing, and promote weight loss. Peptides in skincare are used primarily for skin repair and to reduce the anti-aging process. Peptides regarding skincare are usually extracted from plasma and other sources. The aim of this research is to chemically synthesize some notable skincare peptides (GHK, KTTKS, and GQPR) using solid phase peptide synthesis approach and test their membrane permeability. These peptides were synthesized using rink-amide resin, then cleaved employing high percentage of TFA, and precipitated with cold-ether. Peptides were characterized by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. As these peptides are very hydrophilic in nature, they were eluted at the beginning of the reverse phase chromatography while C18 column was used. GHK showed an intense peak at m/z 340.2 which corresponds to its theoretical mass. Two peptides, KTTKS and GQPR, also demonstrated representative peaks at m/z 563.3 and 456.3, respectively which agree with the theoretical mass. The current research focuses on the membrane permeability of these peptides to ensure and improve skin penetration.