A hypothesis for examining dihydroxyacetone, the active component in sunless tanning products, as a topical prophylactic against SARS-COV-2 transmission

Abstract

This hypothesis raises the interesting prospect that dihydroxyacetone (DHA), the key ingredient in self-tanning creams, when applied daily to the face and hands may have prophylactic action against SARS-COV-2 transmission and infection. The scientific and mechanistic basis for this hypothesis is elaborated based on our understanding of the chemical reactivity of DHA with proteins to afford advanced glycation products. This piece ends with a proposal for doing key experiments that can be run to test this hypothesis. As more than 30 million people have been infected with this disease world-wide, a safe method for stopping spread is worthy of consideration. Publication of this hypothesis would enable the scientific community at large to test this in a clinically meaningful setting to address the potential for DHA-based prophylaxis. Given the calamity of this crisis, it is anticipated that the publication of this hypothesis, which is supported by key studies on protein and nucleoside glycation, can be disseminated to as many researchers as possible.

Fig. 1

Structure of dihydroxyacetone (DHA) and its homodimer.

Fig. 2

Maillard reaction of “3-carbon” sugars with lysine to give glycation products 5a-c by a series of reactions including aldol condensations, Amadori rearrangements and oxidation events. Compound 5b is one of several conceivable adducts to lysine and arginine. The formation of 5c, currently unknown, is proposed here as an alternative product resulting from a Hantzsch-type pyrrole synthesis.