Collagen Formulations for Improved Skin Care

Abstract

Compositions and methods for administering collagen to a human subject have been developed. The collagen-containing lipid vesicles of the invention provide a delivery system for human collagen which eliminates problems associated with chemical and physical instability of the collagen as well as immune responses to non-human collagen.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61 / 016,739, filed Dec. 26, 2007; and 61 / 027,864, filed Feb. 12, 2008, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The skin is the largest organ in the human body and consists essentially of two primary layers—the epidermis and the dermis. The epidermis is the outermost layer and, among other things, controls water loss from cells and tissue. The dermis is the layer below the epidermis and contains blood vessels, lymph vessels, hair follicles and sweat glands. Below the dermis is the hypodermis. Although the hypodermis is considered to be part of the integumentary system, it is not generally considered to be a layer of the skin. The hypodermis is used mainly for fat storage.[0003]The outermost epidermis is made tip of stratified squamous epithelium with an underlying basement membrane. It contains no blood...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0028]The subject invention pertains to new and advantageous skin care compositions. In a preferred embodiment, the subject invention provides advantageous formulations for delivering collagen proteins to the skin. In a specific embodiment, the formulations of the subject invention are used to efficiently deliver collagen proteins to facial skin.

[0029]The subject invention provides advantageous skin care formulations whereby collagen proteins can be readily and efficiently delivered into facial skin to improve the health and appearance of the skin. In accordance with the subject invention, the collagen proteins can be administered in a formulation that is as simple as a collagen protein in a saline solution. However, in preferred embodiments, the formulation further comprises one or more emulsifying agents and / or penetration enhancers. These additional agents can improve the characteristics of the formulation to avoid, for example, phase separation. These agents can also improve the transport of the agents into the skin in terms of efficiency as well as consistency.

[0030]In one embodiment, the present invention provides a skin care composition with a safe and effective amount of one ore more collagen fragments, and / or variants thereof, wherein the formulation facilitates the passage of the collagen protein through the epidermis and thus being delivered to the dermis of the skin. In a further embodiment, the collagen proteins may be delivered to the epidermis as well. Accordingly, the present invention is useful in regulating and / or improving the condition of the skin (including the appearance and / or feel of the skin) by efficiently delivering collagen proteins to the appropriate location within the skin.

[0032]In addition, the use of the particular collagen proteins as described herein is advantageous for avoiding undesired side effects such as allergic or autoimmune reactions.

[0034]Advantageously, the present invention provides compositions and methods for combating the aging of skin, wherein combating the aging of skin can include, for example, hydration of the skin, treating the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, and other forms of undesirable skin texture. By presenting collagen proteins into the dermal and / or epidermal layer(s) of the skin, the form, strength, as well as function of the skin is enhanced.

[0035]In certain embodiments, the compositions of the subject invention comprise a dispersion of lipid vesicles that contain agents, in addition to the collagen proteins, that are useful in delaying, minimizing, or eliminating skin aging, wrinkling, and / or other histological changes typically associated with the intrinsic conditions (such as aging, menopause, acne, etc.) and extrinsic conditions (such as environmental pollution, wind, heat, low humidity, harsh surfactants, etc.).

Problems solved by technology

With age or injury, the collagen in a person begins to weaken and lose its elasticity.

In the skin, this process eventually results in the appearance of wrinkles.

In young skin, the collagen remains intact and elastic, however, as the skin ages, the support structure weakens, the skin loses elasticity and the collagen support wears down from the cumulative stress of for example, facial expressions.

This causes lines and wrinkles to appear in the skin.

Procedures involving injecting collagen are not without risk.

For example, bovine collagen injections can cause allergic reactions such as redness, swelling, firmness, itching and, in rare instances, abscess formation.

Also, the injection process itself poses certain challenges.

The locating of the needle tip at the proper depth within the dermis is also difficult for the practitioner.

However, there is no visual reference point, other than the end of the syringe body, from which the practitioner can easily determine the extent that the needle extends into the dermis.

Thus, the needle tip may be placed too deep, or too shallow, for the intended application.

These qualities are not always present in individuals, and this has limited the availability of collagen therapy to patients.

Unfortunately, such topical collagen therapy has proven less than effective as conventional forms of collagen do not appear to penetrate into the dermis.

As noted above, the skin consists of multiple layers and is extremely complex in terms of its function as well as its chemical make-up.

Transdermal (through the skin) application of medicines and other substances poses a wide range of formulation hurdles.

The ability to deliver desired substances to a layer within the skin is equally, if not even more, difficult.

Each of these methods has disadvantages, particularly with respect to the delivery of collagen and / or hyaluronic acid.

However, although phospholipids are suitable for certain pharmaceutical applications, phospholipid liposome technology has been beset by serious problems, for example, phospholipids turn over rapidly in vivo and are unstable in storage.

Also, they are labile and expensive to purify or synthesize, and the manufacture of phospholipid liposomes is difficult and costly to scale up.

Although liposomes are well known in the art, there are no previous reports of their use to efficiently deliver collagen and / or hyaluronic acid in a skin care formulation.