ItsSkinDeep is all about biotechnology and how this enthralling scientific area links to
cosmetic ingredients. When I tell people what I study (biotechnology and bioengineering) people ALWAYS look at me with the most boggled expression and state, “Natalie, what on earth is that?” Well this blogger is about to answer this question! Warning: videos embedded (get your cup of tea ready).
What is
Biotechnology?
Biotechnology is a
technique in biology that manipulates cellular and molecular processes in living
organisms and systems, such as mammalian, bacterial, yeast, plant and algal
cells, to make useful products that benefit health of humans and the
environment. This technology has helped develop products that have paved way
for disease treatments (biopharmaceuticals),
lessen the carbon footprint (biofuels)
and decrease hunger (GM foods). Genius!
Probably one of the most famous biotechnology designs are
those seriously cute glow-in-the-dark bunnies
created by a collaborative team of scientists at Universities in Turkey and
Hawaii, the “glowing gene” for the green fluorescent protein from jellyfish DNA
injected into rabbit embryos. (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/team-of-scientists-create-cloned-glowinthedark-rabbits-8756928.html).
Another perfect example of biotechnology is the production of
biopharmaceuticals such as recombinant
human insulin, a protein therapeutic created by inserting the human
insulin gene into bacterial cells such as E.coli
(yes, those nasty buggers that cause diarrhoea, but they are low cost and
do grow fast... great for industrial scale production). These bacteria are then
encouraged to grow and replicate in culture/nutrient medium whilst using the
recombinant human insulin gene to produce lots of human insulin; this insulin is harvested and purified for
medicine (1)(2).
This genetic engineering of cells is also known as bioengineering. A lot of bioengineering
utilises circular DNA from bacteria called plasmids, to create
biopharmaceuticals and glowing bunnies. Thinking this is oh-so-complicated? Do not fret, this is how genetic engineering works:
1) You first start off with your gene of interest from
DNA, whether this be the glow-in-the-dark gene or human insulin gene, and amplify this gene by the polymerase
chain reaction (PCR), a process whereby lots and lots of copies of the gene are
made. These copies are called the “inserts”.
2) Plasmids
are then extracted from bacteria and cut
open with enzymes, e.g. restriction enzymes, opening the circle so that the
DNA “insert” can be stuck in. The plasmid is then glued together with the new inserted
DNA by enzymes called ligases. This plasmid is now called a recombinant plasmid DNA since it now
contains the gene of interest.
3) The recombinant plasmid DNA can be placed into other cells, e.g. bacteria,
mammalian, or plant cells, where these cells’ machinery transform the gene of
interest into protein by what Francis Crick called the “central dogma of molecular biology”: from DNA to RNA (by transcription) and from RNA to protein (by translation). Voila, you have your glow-in-the-dark
bunnies!
Here is my favourite video to describe protein
production further:
Cosmetic
Ingredients
Many cosmetic ingredients nowadays are biotechnologically
derived. Some examples include:
• Botulinum toxin A (Botox) to reduce appearance
of wrinkles.
• A recombinant form of human transforming growth factor (recombinant
TGF-β3) to reduce scarring after surgery; TGF-β3 is normally found in large
quantities in developing embryonic skin and embryonic wounds that repair minus
the scarring.
• Bioactive proteins from human stem cell derivatives to stimulate
collagen production (3).
Bionanotechnology (manipulating molecules and atoms at the nanoscales to resolve biological and medical issues) has been
used to design cosmetic ingredients for “better UV protection” and “deeper skin
penetration”. Such biomaterials include the nanoparticle titanium dioxide (~20nm)
which provides UV-protection (4), chitin nanofibrils (~240nm) (nanocrystals from
the crustacean exoskeleton) for wound healing (5), and liposomes (basically
tiny empty balls enclosed by a lipid bilayer where cosmetic ingredients such as
Vitamin E can be inserted into) as a delivery method for cosmetic ingredients whereby the liposomes join with
cell membranes to encourage release of whatever is in the ball (6). However,
some of these nanoparticles, e.g. titanium dioxide, don't come without their
risks of toxicity (see my post: natural photoprotection).
Finally, I will leave you with a brilliant TED talk about new frontiers in bionanotechnology:
For more information, see the following journal articles:
Image credit:
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