Using Copper to Improve the Well-Being of the Skin
Copper has two key properties that are being exploited in consumer and medical device products in the last decade. On the one hand, copper has potent biocidal properties. On the other hand, copper is involved in numerous physiological and metabolic processes critical for the appropriate
functioning of almost all tissues in the human body. In the skin, copper is involved in the synthesis and stabilization of extracellular matrix skin proteins and angiogenesis. This manuscript reviews clinical studies that show that the use of textile consumer and medical device products, embedded
with microscopic copper oxide particles, improve the well-being of the skin. These include studies showing a) cure of athlete's foot infections and improvement in skin elasticity, especially important for individuals suffering from diabetes; b) reduction of facial fine line and wrinkles;
and c) enhancement of wound healing; by copper oxide embedded socks, pillowcases and wound dressings, respectively. The manuscript also reviews and discusses the mechanisms by which the presence of copper in these products improves skin well-being.
Keywords: Biocide; copper; extracellular matrix; skin; textiles; wound healing
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 August 2014
- Current Chemical Biology aims to publish full-length and mini reviews on exciting new developments at the chemistry-biology interface, covering topics relating to Chemical Synthesis, Science at Chemistry-Biology Interface and Chemical Mechanisms of Biological Systems.
Current Chemical Biology covers the following areas: Chemical Synthesis (Syntheses of biologically important macromolecules including proteins, polypeptides, oligonucleotides, oligosaccharides etc.; Asymmetric synthesis; Combinatorial synthesis; Diversity-oriented synthesis; Template-directed synthesis; Biomimetic synthesis; Solid phase biomolecular synthesis; Synthesis of small biomolecules: amino acids, peptides, lipids, carbohydrates and nucleosides; and Natural product synthesis).
Science at Chemistry-Biology Interface (Chemical informatics; Macromolecular catalysts and receptors; Enzymatic synthesis; Biosynthetic engineering; Combinatorial biosynthesis; Plant cell based chemistry; Bacterial and viral cell based chemistry; Chemistry of cellular processes in plants/animals; Receptor chemistry; Cell signaling chemistry; Drug design through understanding of disease processes; Synthetic biology; New high throughput screening techniques; Small molecular array fabrication; Chemical genomics; Chemical and biological approaches to carbohydrates proteins and nucleic acids design; Chemical and biological regulation of biosynthetic pathways; and Unnatural biomolecular analogs). - Editorial Board
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