shield the eyes from blue light to prevent
macular degeneration, which was the
inspiration behind this concept. Further, the melanin was fractionated (see
Figure 1) to produce smaller polymers
for easier application and to increase
HEV filtration while minimizing the
perception of darkness.
Rationale and Compound
Development
FM was specifically designed to
shield the skin with maximum absorption of HEV light, and to facilitate repair
of the skin with minimal absorbance of
red and near infrared (NIR) because
light in this region of wavelengths is
known to be phototherapeutic to the
skin and provide anti-aging benefits.
Chemists and physicists have long been
familiar with the so-called particle-in-the-box concept of de-localized
electronic systems, in which smaller
molecular weight, conjugated molecules
have less absorption in the longer
wavelengths—those the eye associates
with red color. Since recent science has
suggested a range of molecular weights
for melanin, an opportunity was presented to fractionate standard melanin
and thereby isolate a melanin fraction
with less red and NIR absorption and
more HEV light absorption.
Melanin’s use in
sunglasses to shield the
eyes from blue light was
the inspiration behind
this concept.
Research has shown that exposing
dermal fibroblasts to red light elevates
the levels of collagen and elastin content
in the skin,7 although this mechanism
is not fully understood. Moreover, the
same study describes a clinical study of
20 volunteers who were exposed periodically to red light for six months and
found that 51–75% of the participants
reported significant improvement in
skin texture and color with no effect on
pigmentation.
HEV Absorbance
To determine the ability of FM to
absorb HEV light, a spectrophotometer was used to assess its capability to
absorb in the blue range. Figure 2 shows
a graphical representation of the performance of FM in the HEV wavelength
region, in comparison with standard,
full molecular weight melanin. The
absorption spectra shown were normal-
Vol. 126, No. 3/March 2011
www.CosmeticsandToiletries.com Cosmetics & Toiletries® magazine | 189
