Dear Colleagues,

Skin acts as a biological barrier serving as thermal insulation, immunological balance, prevention of water loss and protection of the body's internal organs from environmental aggressions, including pollution and sunlight. These aggressions affect the composition of sebum and the quality of the outermost primary barrier of skin (i.e., the stratum corneum (SC)), and promote various harmful damages, including systemic immunosuppression, oxidative stress and metabolic deficiencies. Among the more visible consequences, there are the signs of skin aging with the formation of the so-called aged-spots, fine lines and wrinkles which, together with some particular diseases, are of great interest for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

The role of cosmetics is to balance the cell turnover and improve the metabolism of xenobiotics, protecting the skin's structure and function, while advanced medications help to solve problems regarding skin alteration, including dysbiosis, wounds, burns and other diseases. Naturally, in order to be effective, the active ingredients of cosmetics, foods and advanced medications have to penetrate and be released through skin and mucous membranes, being safe and free of any toxic side effects. The great recent progress in nanobiotechnology has helped to solve the problem of the active ingredients' penetration, thus obtaining a higher effectiveness of cosmetics and dietary supplements to slow down the skin’s aging processes and to obtain better outcomes for skin wounds and burns.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has increased consumers’ focus on product sustainability regarding human health and environmental protection. Consequently, interest has increased not only regarding the source and convenience of the selected ingredients used for the formulations of cosmetics, advanced medications and dietary supplements, but also for their overall impact on both health and the environment. Thus, there has been increased demand for green and safe beauty products and medications because consumers and patients like to feel better, healthier, happier and more satisfied in themselves, especially amidst this unexpected pandemic. Additionally, there has been an increased demand for high-technology products made of natural bioingredients, which have to be skin- and environment-friendly and therefore packed in biodegradable containers, possibly plastic-free. For all these reasons, the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries have increased their investments in research and innovation by science-driven studies with the aim to bettering the quality of life of all consumers with the help of bionanotechnology, with benefits for human health and the environment. It has been shown that the shape, size and surface properties of micro/nanoingredients may help these ingredients to penetrate skin tissue and mucous membranes, and their natural origin and recovery from waste material may be of help to rebalance the life of the global and complex environment, saving its biodiversity. Particles larger than 60 nm tend to have difficulty diffusing, for example, through the native extracellular matrix (ECM), and larger particles are unable to maneuver through it, while the excessive waste material and polluted micro/nano particles invading air, land and oceans are the main cause of environmental disasters and human diseases.

This Special Issue will try to propose some solutions through the recovery of bioactive micro/nano ingredients and tools that might be used for their effectiveness and safety at level of skin and mucous membranes showing the enhancement of their mechanism of action by the use of innovative particulates and smart carriers, able to enhance their penetration, safeguarding human health and the environment. Thus, the reported studies will try to solve the many problems regarding the selection and use of various bioactive natural ingredients, evidencing their possible penetration through skin and mucous membranes, connected not only to their physicochemical characteristics and biological effectiveness, but also to the utilized carriers. The vehicle should have the capacity to load, transport and release the active ingredients at the level of skin and mucous membrane layers, at the dose and time designed, thus being able to enhance their effectiveness to slow down the formation of wrinkles and repair wounds or burns in a short time, at low cost and without the formation of hypertrophic scars and/or keloids, thus giving the body a youthful and healthy appearance. Bionanotechnology seems to represent new support for enhancing the activity, effectiveness and safety of innovative and more functional bio-ingredients and carriers, which is the main aim of this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Pierfrancesco Morganti
Guest Editor

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• bionanotechnology and cosmetics
• bionanotechnology and skin nutraceuticals
• bioingredients for the formulation of nutracosmeceuticals
• natural cosmetics and biotechnology
• cosmetics and health
• the combined use of cosmetics and dietary supplements
• advancement of hair color using
• bionanotechnology
• bionanotechnology and health
• technicalities and specifics of cosmetics and cosmeceuticals