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Surprising Study Might Have You Chucking Your Products with Gold Nanoparticles

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Let the most recent study on gold nanoparticles serve as a reminder that just because an ingredient is expensive doesn’t mean you need to slather it on your skin. Recently, a team of researchers demonstrated that in certain conditions, gold nanoparticles can disrupt cell function, gene regulation, and collagen contraction related to wound healing (Gold Nanoparticles Cytotoxicity).

Disclaimer: Don’t Panic

cosmetic_goldDon’t let this study cause a total emotional meltdown. Like many things, whether nanoparticles are harmful or helpful depends on particular factors for cytotoxicity: time, concentration, and nanoparticle size. In certain conditions — such as medical settings — they can be helpful (Cosmetics & Toiletries).

The study also found that certain cell types, like adipose-derived stromal (ADS) cells, were more sensitive to the effects of gold nanoparticles than other cells, like human fibroblast cells. So, issues with gold nanoparticles seem to be cell specific.

Even better, the study showed that cells can recover after exposure. Nonetheless, for now, you might want to avoid them in cosmetic products until we have a better idea of what’s safe and what’s not.

Size Matters, But Maybe Not the Way You’d Think (and Time Matters Too!)

For this experiment, researchers tested 13 nm and 45 nm citrate-coated nanoparticles on skin cells. So, the density of the smaller nanoparticle absorbed was much higher (7x higher, in fact) than the larger nanoparticle, which you might have expected. They didn’t enter the nucleus or mitochondria of the keratinocytes, but they did penetrate and stick around in the vacuole around the nucleus.

But the 45 nm nanparticle was actually more toxic. Both nanoparticles slowed cell proliferation, but the 45 nm nanoparticles actually decreased production than the 13 nm nanoparticles, despite being less dense in cells.

Increased exposure time also means a greater decrease in cell proliferation.

This Could Do a Number on Cells and Might Actually Age You

These gold nanoparticles didn’t just slow cell production, they also changed cell activity and changed the cell’s protein. Cells were less able to migrate and contract collagen. That means that wound healing will almost certainly be affected, since cells must be able to contract collagen to close the wound. This is particularly problematic in deep skin wounds, where both dermal fibroblasts and ADS aid in the wound healing process.

The gold nanoparticles caused a decrease in the accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, collagen and, to a lesser extent, fibronectin. Strangely, a decrease in collagen causes a softening of the ECM, but the gold nanoparticles hardened the ECM.

Researchers also noted that it seemed to affect the fat accumulation of pre-adipocytes, which is what eventually differentiates them into adipocytes, or fat cells.

But, the inhibition of wound healing and the effect on the ECM should make you wary about products with gold that claim anti-aging until we’ve got further studies backing them.

Good News! The Damage Can Be Reversed!

The good news is that the cells in the study recovered from the damage in about two weeks, which is a pretty short time frame. The researchers were sure to point out that if the nanoparticles are under certain concentrations, then cells are able to recover completely.

Bottom Line

If you’ve been using products with gold nanoparticles, you might want to rethink it. As of right now, we’re discovering that certain sizes, concentrations, and durations of these nanoparticles could cause damage to skin that inhibits wound healing and speeds up aging, in addition to other issues. It seems to me that this is a great reminder that the most expensive ingredients aren’t always the best.

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