A layer of lipids covers our skin, and with its help our skin retains moisture and remains healthy. In the lipid layer, a compound called ceramide forms a "lamellar gel" with cholesterol, fatty acids, and water. Lamellar gels are mixtures that are thick, do not flow easily, and can hold large amounts of water. Natural ceramide is therefore an important factor for water retention in our skin. A type of lamellar gel, called the "α-gel," can be formulated by mixing compounds called surfactants with a fatty alcohol and water. As you may have guessed by this explanation, α-gels are widely used in skincare products such as skin creams. In a new study published in Colloids and Surfaces A (https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/colloids-and-surfaces), scientists from Tokyo University of Science and Miyoshi Oil and Fat Co. Ltd., Japan, led by Dr Kenichi Sakai, synthesized an α-gel using an oleic acid-based surfactant, which can potentially be used in skincare products. This is a surfactant they had previously developed and is structurally similar to natural ceramide (both are amphiphiles with two tails). "I was interested in whether α-gels could be prepared using gemini surfactants (two-tailed and two-headed surfactants), and in what their structural and physical properties would be," Dr Sakai says. Once the α-gel was ready, Dr Sakai and his team used a technique called small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SWAXS), another technique called nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and an optical microscope to confirm its characteristics. For this, they prepared several mixtures containing different molar ratios of the oleic acid-based surfactant, water, and 1-tetradecanol (a fatty alcohol). The findings were, indeed, satisfactory.Login Or Register To Read Full Story