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. 2023 Apr 11;16(8):3011.
doi: 10.3390/ma16083011.

Physicochemical Properties of Gold Nanoparticles for Skin Care Creams

Peter Majerič  1   2 , Zorana Jović  3 , Tilen Švarc  1 , Žiga Jelen  1 , Andrej Horvat  4 , Djuro Koruga  3   5 , Rebeka Rudolf  1   2
Affiliations

Physicochemical Properties of Gold Nanoparticles for Skin Care Creams

Peter Majerič et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have now been used in skin care creams for several years, with marketed anti-aging, moisturizing, and regenerative properties. Information on the harmful effects of these nanoparticles is lacking, a concern for the use of AuNPs as cosmetic ingredients. Testing AuNPs without the medium of a cosmetic product is a typical method for obtaining this information, which is mainly dependent on their size, shape, surface charge, and dose. As these properties depend on the surrounding medium, nanoparticles should be characterized in a skin cream without extraction from the cream's complex medium as it may alter their physicochemical properties. The current study compares the sizes, morphology, and surface changes of produced dried AuNPs with a polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) stabilizer and AuNPs embedded in a cosmetic cream using a variety of characterization techniques (TEM, SEM, DLS, zeta potential, BET, UV-vis). The results show no observable differences in their shapes and sizes (spherical and irregular, average size of 28 nm) while their surface charges changed in the cream, indicating no major modification of their primary sizes, morphology, and the corresponding functional properties. They were present as individually dispersed nanoparticles and as groups or clusters of physically separated primary nanoparticles in both dry form and cream medium, showing suitable stability. Examination of AuNPs in a cosmetic cream is challenging due to the required conditions of various characterization techniques but necessary for obtaining a clear understanding of the AuNPs' properties in cosmetic products as the surrounding medium is a critical factor for determining their beneficial or harmful effects in cosmetic products.

Keywords: characterization; creams; freeze drying; gold nanoparticles; ultrasonic spray pyrolysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Dried AuNPs, cosmetic cream with AuNPs, and SEM examinations. (a) Freeze-dried PVP cake with AuNPs. (b) Cosmetic cream with embedded AuNPs. (c) SEM image of the dried AuNPs. (d) EDX analysis of select points in the corresponding SEM image of the dried AuNPs. (e) SEM image of the AuNPs embedded in the cosmetic cream. (f) EDX analysis of select points in the corresponding SEM image of the AuNPs embedded in the cosmetic cream.
Figure 2
Figure 2
TEM investigations of the dried AuNPs and the cosmetic cream with AuNPs. (a) TEM image of the dried AuNPs with particle size and morphology analysis. (b) Size distribution of the analyzed AuNPs. (c) TEM image of the AuNPs embedded in the cosmetic cream. (d) EDX analysis of select points in the corresponding TEM image of the AuNPs embedded in the cosmetic cream.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Particle size distribution from the DLS measurements and zeta potential distribution.
Figure 4
Figure 4
UV–vis measurement spectrum with a signature peak for absorption.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Comparison of the dried AuNPs’ dispersion and agglomeration from TEM images, with and without a stabilizer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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