Liotropic liquid crystals with lamellar structure have been, due to their thermodynamic stability, ease of manufacture, high solubilization capacity as well as structural similarity to the corneal skin layer and their beneficial effects on hydration, increasingly studied as dermal carrier systems and certainly underrepresented in the market, dominated by classic emulsions, gels, etc. In order to take full advantage of the effects of cosmetically active ingredients, they must be incorporated into a suitable vehicle to ensure optimal stability and dermal absorption, and thus achieve the desired effect. When designing a carrier system based on liquid crystals, we have to ensure that the incorporated cosmetically active ingredient(s) do not alter or disrupt their microstructure, the latter being crucial for their advantages in applying it to the skin. On this basis within this diploma thesis, we were interested in how the incorporation of the selected cosmetically active ingredients affects the microstructure of liquid crystals. The latter was evaluated by the electron paramagnetic resonance method.
Three different cosmetically active ingredients with different solubility and in different ratios (w/w %) were incorporated into the selected system of liquid crystals with lamellar structure. Into the system, we also managed to incorporate dexpanthenol, which is an analogue of pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and tocopherol acetate, which acts as an antioxidant. The dexpanthenol was then incorporated in shares of 0 %, 1 %, 2 %, 5 %, 7.5 %, 10 %, 15 % or 30 %, and tocopherol in share of 5 %. However, we could not incorporate allantoin because it did not dissolve in the selected system. We further labelled them with selected spin labels, which is a key step in electron paramagnetic resonance measurements, as the information on the microstructure of liquid crystals is obtained through spin labels.
Different ratios of dexpanthenol did not significantly alter the microstructure of the liquid crystals. The structural differences were only observed at higher ratios due to the observed higher value of maximum hyperfine splitting, suggesting a more orderly structure.
Although it would be optimal to incorporate different proportions of tocopherol acetate in liquid crystals, the results are encouraging, at 5 %, since no significant deviation from the sample without cosmetically active ingredient was detected. Dexpanthenol and tocopherol acetate, therefore, do not have a destructive effect on the liquid crystal structure nor do they cause phase transitions, which is advantageous for the development of cosmetic products.
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