Assessment of potential cancer protection of cosmetic products of agro-food origin by Zeolite Scaffolds
Abstract
In this work, three different pure inorganic zeolite membranes and three hybrid PLA-containing Mixed Matrix Membranes (MMMs) were fabricated and compared with each other in virtue of their ability to interact with cells for in vitro test applications. Additionally, we report their performances in cell experiments of novel olive oil-containing cosmetics by using two cell lines with (MCF-10A) epithelial and (MCF-7) epithelial-like cancer characteristics. Our in vitro results revealed that all zeolite scaffolds permit to obtain higher cell densities compared to pure polymeric scaffolds. We also describe that epithelial cells preferentially adhere on pure membranes according to decreasing order: Linde type L>Fe-S-1>Fe-ZSM-5. Moreover, we evidenced an opposite behavior of cancer cells that prefer to adhere and growth on MMM scaffolds. This study shows that the anticancer characteristics of novel cosmetics of natural origin can be easily determined and emphasized using zeolite membranes.
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Introduction
Various studies reported in the literature seem to indicate that olive oilcan be directly used on the skin and locally applied in the forms of creams or salves because the topical use of olive oil alone or as an ingredient in cosmetics shows therapeutic effects (anti-inflammatory, anti-neoplastic and anti-aging) [1-3]. The possible carcinogenicity of each component of a novel cosmetic product can represent an alarming characteristic, which frequently represents the biggest barrier to its commercialization. In the past, many tests on cancer induction from novel cosmetics were carried out using animals. Since 2004, in vivo tests are prohibited in the European Union and the commercialization of cosmetics containing component tested on animals was forbidden and a ban extension until March 2013 was agreed [4]. Today it is a pressing need to design novel scaffolds that have high cellular densities, durability, reproducibility and low degradation kinetic in culture media characteristics due to intrinsic properties of materials. Recently, many synthetic zeolites have been shown to be biocompatible materials [5,6] that allow the growth of different types of cells in culture with better performances than commercial polymeric supports [7].
The work we present here describes the use of inorganic and MMMs zeolite membranes as scaffolds for in vitro analyses of olive oil-containing cosmetics. The basis of this approach is that zeolite membranes with their high surface area and their crystalline porous channel system permit the free passage of culture media cations, substances, and water determining higher cell densities with respect to commercial membranes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work addressing a reliable and useful application of pure zeolite and mixed matrix membranes as in vitro scaffolds to test novel cosmetic products.
Conclusion
The results reported in this article highlight the peculiarities of zeolitic scaffolds prepared as excellent cellular supports for the analysis and control of the cytotoxicological characteristics of cosmetics. A comparison between zeolite crystals-containing hybrid and pure membranes with the same framework, crystal pore and dimensions reveals that the density of cells adhered and grown on supports was always greater for inorganic scaffolds with respect to the polymeric surfaces suggesting that siloxane groups act as binding sites for the cellular membrane.
Our experimental data demonstrate that all cell adhesions are membrane-specific and, in particular, that MCF-10A cells preferentially interact with pure zeolitic membranes. Furthermore, the viability data obtained reveal that pure inorganic supports promote greater cell growth both in respect to the polystyrene control scaffold (PS) and to the MMMs membranes, for two cell lines. After administration of the solid olive oil-containing cosmetic, the normal cells showa better viability, but the tumor cells undergo an evident decrease.
In conclusion, it is evident that due to their chemical-physical peculiarities, simplicity of preparation, biocompatibility and chemical stability in both physiological and conditioned culture media, the prepared zeolitic scaffolds are excellent supports to easily determine the anticancer characteristics of novel cosmetics of natural origin.