10-28-2008, 03:18 PM
28 October 2008
NewScientist.com news service
Sunlight causes wrinkles, among other kinds of skin damage, but a different kind of light - specifically the red glow from LEDs - may help to smooth them out by altering the interactions between water and elastic proteins in the skin.
Andrei Sommer and Dan Zhu of the University of Ulm in Germany have been investigating how water molecules in the skin interact with different substances. They found that water molecules close to a hydrophobic, or "water-hating", substance formed a slippery crystalline layer, while those surrounding a hydrophilic, or water-loving, substance were glue-like.
Elastin, the fibrous protein that gives skin its elasticity and so counteracts wrinkling, is hydrophobic. But as we age, fatty acids, amino acids and calcium salts build up on the elastin fibres, making them hydrophilic. So the water film around the fibres becomes increasingly glue-like, causing them to stick to the surrounding tissue and reducing their elasticity.
Previous studies have suggested that red light with a wavelength of around 670 nanometres can make water molecules close to hydrophilic substances more mobile. So Sommer and Zhu aimed powerful red LEDs at the skin around the eyes for 90 seconds daily for 10 months, and found that it significantly reduced wrinkles (Crystal Growth and Design, DOI: 10.1021/cg8000703). "The result was rejuvenated skin," says Sommer.
Such LEDs have previously also been used to reverse eye damage and promote wound healing (New Scientist, 13 July 2002, p 16).
From issue 2679 of New Scientist magazine, 28 October 2008, page 21
http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/mg20026796.100-red-light-may-rejuvenate-wrinkled-skin.html?DCMP=ILC-hmts&nsref=top1_head_Red%20LEDs%20could%20make%20anti-ageing%20device
NewScientist.com news service
Sunlight causes wrinkles, among other kinds of skin damage, but a different kind of light - specifically the red glow from LEDs - may help to smooth them out by altering the interactions between water and elastic proteins in the skin.
Andrei Sommer and Dan Zhu of the University of Ulm in Germany have been investigating how water molecules in the skin interact with different substances. They found that water molecules close to a hydrophobic, or "water-hating", substance formed a slippery crystalline layer, while those surrounding a hydrophilic, or water-loving, substance were glue-like.
Elastin, the fibrous protein that gives skin its elasticity and so counteracts wrinkling, is hydrophobic. But as we age, fatty acids, amino acids and calcium salts build up on the elastin fibres, making them hydrophilic. So the water film around the fibres becomes increasingly glue-like, causing them to stick to the surrounding tissue and reducing their elasticity.
Previous studies have suggested that red light with a wavelength of around 670 nanometres can make water molecules close to hydrophilic substances more mobile. So Sommer and Zhu aimed powerful red LEDs at the skin around the eyes for 90 seconds daily for 10 months, and found that it significantly reduced wrinkles (Crystal Growth and Design, DOI: 10.1021/cg8000703). "The result was rejuvenated skin," says Sommer.
Such LEDs have previously also been used to reverse eye damage and promote wound healing (New Scientist, 13 July 2002, p 16).
From issue 2679 of New Scientist magazine, 28 October 2008, page 21
http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/mg20026796.100-red-light-may-rejuvenate-wrinkled-skin.html?DCMP=ILC-hmts&nsref=top1_head_Red%20LEDs%20could%20make%20anti-ageing%20device