Fullerenes improve fine wrinkles around eyes

However, most antioxidants are unstable in the presence of light and heat, and easily deteriorate under exposure to UV light. However, fullerene (C60) is an antioxidant that is stable even in the presence of light and heat. Hence, fullerene was hypothesised to be effective in preventing the formation of fine wrinkles. A clinical trial demonstrated that, compared to a placebo cream, a cream containing fullerene significantly reduced the area of wrinkled skin, without any adverse effects; the wrinkle-improving effect may result from the regulation of gene expression involved in wrinkle formation and skin barrier function via ROS scavenging by fullerene.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), generated through exposure of skin to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, are involved in the formation of wrinkles during photoageing. When skin is exposed to UV light, the epidermal keratinocytes generate ROS and promote the activation of elastic-fibre-cleaving enzymes and collagenase (collagendegrading enzyme) via signal transduction, thereby reducing normal fibre components such as collagen, hyaluronic acid, and elastin and resulting in wrinkle formation (Fig 1, right pathway).1,2 Another cause of wrinkle formation is skin dryness. When inflammatory cytokines are activated in the epidermis of dried skin, transcription factors are induced that promote the expression of proteolytic enzymes, resulting in the formation of fine wrinkles (Fig 1, left pathway). 

If the fibre components are cleaved, young skin can sequentially synthesise new fibres, effectively stopping the formation of wrinkles. However, in aged skin, the ability to synthesise fibres is reduced, resulting in wrinkles when fibres are cleaved (Fig 2). ROS triggers signal transduction during wrinkle formation; therefore, we expect that ROS scavengers (i.e., antioxidants), when applied to skin, will lead to the prevention of wrinkles (Fig 2, right). Fullerene (C60) is a soccer-ball-shaped compound consisting of 60 carbon atoms; it is a unique substance in which the carbon atoms form a spherical structure. Since its discovery in 1985, fullerene has been found to exist in nature (albeit in small quantities) in shungite ore from Karelia, Russia, and in high-grade Chinese ink. In 2010, a research group, mainly from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, also verified the existence of fullerene in interstellar planetary nebulae.16