Skiers, hikers, others and soldiers exposed to extreme cold temperatures can experience frostbite– a painful injury that takes place when ice crystals form in the skin. Numerous extremely cold areas are also remote, and delays in frostbite treatment can result in extreme wounds, scarring and even limb amputation. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Biomaterials have established a cream that prevents frostbite injuries in mice when applied to the skin 15 minutes before serious cold direct exposure.
Frostbite not only eliminates skin cells, but can likewise hurt much deeper tissues like muscle and bone, in some cases causing secondary infections and long-term nerve damage. Munia Ganguli and associates desired to test the frostbite avoidance residential or commercial properties of a mix of artificial particles frequently used in labs to cryopreserve cells.
Skiers, others, soldiers and hikers exposed to extreme cold temperatures can experience frostbite– a painful injury that takes place when ice crystals form in the skin. Now, scientists reporting in ACS Applied Biomaterials have established a cream that avoids frostbite injuries in mice when applied to the skin 15 minutes before serious cold exposure.
The cream did not prevent frostbite when applied 30 minutes or more prior to the cold challenge; however, several applications did not damage skin.
The group combined SynAFP with a business aloe vera cream and applied it to the skin of mice 15 minutes prior to a cold obstacle. The cream minimized frostbite wound size, tissue damage and inflammation, and sped recovery, compared with no treatment. The cream did not prevent frostbite when used 30 minutes or more before the cold difficulty; however, multiple applications did not harm skin.
Reference: “A Combination of Synthetic Molecules Acts as Antifreeze for the Protection of Skin versus Cold-Induced Injuries” by Aanchal Gupta, Betsy Reshma G, Praveen Singh, Ekta Kohli, Shantanu Sengupta and Munia Ganguli, 25 December 2021, ACS Applied Bio Materials.DOI: 10.1021/ acsabm.1 c01058.
The authors acknowledge funding from the Defence Research and Development Organisation, the Department of Biotechnology Junior Research Fellowship and the Council of Scientific & & Industrial Research (CSIR).
