Determining the effectiveness of vitamin C in skin care by atomic force microscope

Abstract

This article presents the results of experiments, which examine cell mechanisms with the goal of confirming the effective action of the active ingredients used in anti-aging cosmetics. Skin stiffness measurements with the use of an atomic force microscope on two forms of vitamin C (ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate and l-ascorbic acid) have been presented. The estimated Young's modulus for three types of cells (a control as well as cells treated with two forms of vitamin C) has shown significant differences in the stiffness of the tested cells which was confirmed in the histological staining experiment. The presented results indicate the dependence between collagen synthesis and the stiffness of cells treated with two forms of vitamin C.