What is Oxofulleram™?Oxofulleram is a patent-pending antioxidant molecule developed by Solenne, and is the only ingredient in Combray besides grapeseed oil. Oxofulleram is soluble in oils and so it dissolves in the grapeseed oil, imparting the unique color to Combray.
It is a derivative of a form of pure-carbon antioxidant specifically for use in skin care. Each component plays a role specific to skin care. The antioxidant activity is contributed by the pure carbon in the form of C60 fullerene,
the lipophilic tail is to ensure compatibility with the lipids
(oil-like components) present in the stratum corneum and sebum, and the
addition of the oxygen molecules ensures that the molecule is very
gentle when exposed to light. This last aspect is a technical discovery
by Solenne. The different components are described in more detail
below.
Technically, Oxofulleram is a lipophilic (oil-soluble) C60fullerene-derived ketolactam. The name comes from the different components:
Oxo (oxygen) Fuller (C60 fullerene) Am (ketolactam).
Oxofulleram - chemical stucture
C60 Fullerene
A C60 fullerene is a spherical molecule of 60 carbon atoms, one of the allotropes (different molecular structures) of pure carbon - diamond and graphite being the other two. C60 is the name of one of the molecules in the class of compounds called fullerenes; there are others, such as C70, C76, C78,..., but C60 is the most prevalent.
C60 is found in nature in certain geological strata,
coal deposits, meteor impact sites, and other locations where
a source of organic matter has been under conditions of high temperature and low pressure. One way to think of it is that
under conditions of high temperature and high pressure, pure carbon
forms in the diamond state; at high temperature and medium pressure,
pure carbon forms in the graphite state; and high temperature and
low pressure, pure carbon assumes the fullerene state. They are all forms of pure carbon, each just with the carbon atom bonded together differently.
C60 fullerene
The carbons in C60 are held together by alternating single and double bonds. The "ene" in fullerene connotes the same thing as the "ene" as in beta-carotene (the antioxidant found in carrots and other vegetables).
beta-Carotene - the "ene" connotes carbon-carbon double bonds
In organic chemistry, "ene" means carbon-carbon double bonds, and this, biochemically, is the main reason that C60
is a good antioxidant, or reactant with free radicals (which is also
called a radical scavenger). Radicals can add to these carbon-carbon
bonds, in a process called radical addition.
Since C60 is a molecule, it can be chemically modified into different molecular structures. Just as beta-carotene is related to lycopene and they are two members of a class of generally similar compounds called carotenoids, fullerenes comprise a class of literally thousands of different possible molecular structures, each with varying degrees of similarity and difference to each other.
Your Skin and Lipids
The outermost surface of your skin is the stratum corneum, which consists of regions of keratin (dead skin cells) held in a matrix of lipids. The lipids are like the mortar holding together the keratin bricks. One of the types of lipids in this matrix are free fatty acids like stearic acid (below). The stratum corneum is coated and protected by sebum secreted by your sebaceous glands. Sebum is made up of oily components, like free fatty acids, and waxy components. The sebum also contains lipophilic antioxidants, mainly Vitamin E and Coenzyme Q10.
The purpose of sebum is multi-fold: it appears that one purpose is to deliver antioxidants to the stratum corneum, and the other primary purpose is to provide an oil layer to protect against moisture loss through the stratum corneum. Together, the stratum corneum and sebum provide a lipid-based protection barrier from the environment for your body.
To be as closely
compatible to your body's natural protection system, it would be
beneficial to mimic the lipid components of your skin, and this is why
the lipophilic tail is a part of Oxofulleram. Just like stearic acid,
it is composed of only carbon and hydrogen.
Stearic acid - a long-chain fatty acid found in human sebum and stratum corneum. Oxofulleram
This lets us prepare an oil-based formulation mimicking the skin's sebum and also allows the Oxofulleram to penetrate into the stratum corneum a small but significant degree. Finally, a lipophilic compound which is not soluble in water ensures that none will pass through the epidermis to the dermis and beyond to the bloodstream, which would necessitate studying long-term internal exposure effects to ensure safety.
The next section describes the why the last component, the ketolactam, is an important part of Oxofulleram.
Your Skin and Light
Light, especially UV light, is the primary source of stress to your skin. This occurs through oxidation caused by reactive oxygen species, which are free radicals and other compounds such as singlet oxygen and superoxide (which can lead to the creation of free radicals such as peroxyl and hydroxyl). UV creates these compounds within the skin, which go on to react with and damage cells. This oxidative stress leads in acute cases to sunburn and cell death (which leads to peeling of the dead skin) and chronically, to aging (called photo-aging). Oxidative stress can even mutate DNA and lead eventually to skin cancer. So, the best thing anyone can do for healthy, younger skin is to avoid excess sunlight. A small amount is healthy and required for Vitamin D synthesis, but this amount is on the order of casual exposure, well before any redness.
The reason antioxidants are beneficial to the skin is precisely because some can, if applied in the right manner, reduce the type of oxidative stress described above. The oxidative stress is reduced when the levels of free radical species and/or reactive oxygen species are reduced. Antioxidants do this by reacting with the free radicals. Ideally, the antioxidant reacts with the free radicals and does not carry on the chain reaction that free radicals commonly generate.
This is one very beneficial aspect of C60 fullerene. It reacts with the free radicals and reactive oxygen species via addition to the carbon-carbon double bonds, attaching the free radicals and reactive oxygen species through chemical bonds, and then doesn't go on to react further. Depending on the type of free radical, 6, 12 or more free radicals or reactive oxygen species can react with the C60 fullerene.
At the same time many antioxidants or other compounds can help your skin, many can also produce varying amounts of reactive oxygen species themselves. Typically, any substance that causes photosensitivity, or easier susceptibilty to sunburn, is causing this through generation of single oxygen or superoxide, two energetic, reactive forms of oxygen. Ideally, the antioxidant generates very little of these sort of compounds so that they have the maximum capacity aimed towards reducing concentrations of free radicals and reactive oxygen species caused by the other sources of stress, such as UV.
By already oxidizing the C60
fullerene to form the ketolactam, the generation of singlet oxygen, a
reactive oxygen species produced by many substances in various
quantities, is reduced to very low levels, even lower than Vitamin E.
See here for data comparing the singlet oxygen generation of
Oxofulleram to unmodified C60 fullerene and Vitamin E.
Conversion to the ketolactam allows the C60
fullerene to do what it does best, which is react and neutralize
singlet oxygen, superoxide, hydroxyl radical, and other free radicals.
Oxofulleram Technical Information:
INCI name: Docosyloxymethoxybenzyl Azafullerenedione
International Patent-pending:
PCT/US2007/085879
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