Summary
- Retinyl retinoate, a new retinoid precursor and vitamin A derivative that reportedly combines high effectiveness, favorable side effect profile (e.g. low capacity to produce skin irritation) and good stability (compared to other vitamin A derivatives and retinoids). Retinyl retinoate is a molecule that is produced by chemically joining the molecules of retinoic acid and retinol. In the body, just one metabolic step is required to split it back into retinoic acid and retinol, at which point retinoic acid is immediately active whereas retinol can be converted to additional retinoic acid later on. As a result, biological activity of retinyl retinoate in the skin is reportedly higher than that of retinol (and possibly even retinaldehyde) and may be approaching that of retinoic acid itself. On the other hand, since retinyl retinoate is inactive until converted and the conversion is gradual, it likely produces a milder and more gradual rise in the skin levels of retinoic acid (compared to direct application of retinoic acid). Such dynamics leads to less irritation because it helps avoid excessive spikes in skin levels of retinoic acid.On the other hand, since retinyl retinoate is inactive until converted and the conversion is gradual, it likely produces a milder and more gradual rise in the skin levels of retinoic acid (compared to direct application of retinoic acid). Such dynamics leads to less irritation because it helps avoid excessive spikes in skin levels of retinoic acid.
Properties
Cytotoxicity: IC 50 retinol 25μM, retinol retinoic acid ester is 40μM (60% higher than retinol), retinoic acid is a prescription drug, and it is forbidden to be used in personal care (IC 50 is a certain concentration of certain substance to induce 50% of the amount of cell apoptosis, used to measure the ability of the substance to induce apoptosis. The higher the cell toxicity, the weaker);
Biological activity: Retinol retinoate retains the cyclic end groups and side chain alkenyl groups, and still has the biological activity of retinol and retinoic acid. In vivo tests show that the ability to promote skin regeneration is better than retinol and retinoic acid;
Improve the optical stability and chemical stability of retinol, while reducing the irritation of retinol and retinoic acid.