"Scientific evidence becomes unavoidable in cosmetics," Professor Daniel Hartmann

Interview by Régine Frick

30 April 2012

Daniel Hartmann, a professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Lyon, scientific adviser of Novotec, a company specialized in the study of the extracellular matrix, is an expert in tissue decryption. Member of the European Centre of Dermocosmetics (CED), he is an active participant in the scientific ferment of this cluster in Lyon which originated from the historical activity of the Centre Technique du Cuir (Technical Center for Leather) and from research on skin substitutes.

Premium Beauty News - Where does your interest for tissues and more specifically collagen come from?

Professor Hartmann - In the ’80s, the Centre Technique du Cuir
[1] started in Lyon a scientific activity around collagen. Several teams were working on this subject, some on collagen extraction, others on the impact of diseases on the extracellular matrix such as liver fibrosis. At the Pasteur Institute in Lyon, I was involved in the production of immunological probes: antibodies [2] directed against extracellular matrix molecules like collagen, elastin, laminin... Our specialty was to work on proteins of human origin but also of other animal species.

This working group evolved and Lyon remained a platform bringing together academic and industry researchers specialized in this area. We also are fortunate to have a global competitive cluster, Lyonbiopôle, which is a centre of excellence in infectious diseases for therapeutics and diagnostics and to which the Novotec company [3] was taking part.

Today my work as a Professor at the faculty of pharmacy, has led me to work on materials and medical devices intended for health. These biomaterials can be synthetic, like ceramics, bioglasses or resorbable polymers like polylactic acid, or natural like collagen. Applications concern for example bone substitute products, surgical oriented resorbable screws or coated dressings with wound healing properties. To this end, we have developed an expertise in tissue analysis in collaboration with Novotec.

Premium Beauty News - What are your specificities in this area?

Pr. Hartmann - We work in partnership with Novotec for whom I am a scientific advisor. Novotec develops, manufactures and markets specific antibodies for the extracellular matrix and offers its knowledge in tissue characterization. In this context, conventional techniques of tissue analysis like histology, immunohistochemistry (using antibodies for the mapping of the tissue) and electron microscopy have recently been complemented by in situ hybridization. Hence, the collected information is more complete since on the same tissue we can have in parallel the localization of a protein of interest and the expression of its gene. Kinetic studies are also possible to study proteins produced during a process of tissue repair such as wound healing.

Premium Beauty News - What are the applications of the different methods of tissue analysis in particular in the cosmetic field?

Pr. Hartmann - The developed methods are mainly applied in the health sector but bridges do exist with cosmetics because the experimental approach is identical.

For example, the effects of pharmaceutical molecules have been studied in skin disease like psoriasis. And the reactions in connection with the implantation of skin substitutes and biomaterials were analysed and monitored in vivo in mice, rabbits and rats. A publication is currently under validation.

In the cosmetic field, work on the effect of active molecules present in a cream has been undertaken to explore tissue remodelling and understand the mechanisms involved. We try to answer the questions: Who, When and Where? I believe that in the future, scientific evidence will be increasingly indisputable in the cosmetic field, which is comparable to the health sector area. I am also a member of the European Centre Dermocosmetics (CED), with one of the goals precisely being to strengthen the scientific knowledge in cosmetics.

Premium Beauty News - Are you planning to further your work in tissue analysis?

Pr. Hartmann - Yes, we want to answer the question How many? That is to say, after having accessed the localization of protein expression in tissues, to be able to quantify the gene expression level. This is indeed a major axis of development for Novotec.

Footnotes

[1] The Centre Technique du Cuir is now called the CTC. It has over 100 years of experience and expertise in the support of suppliers, manufacturers and distributors in the leather industry on such topics as training, consultancy, audits and inspections, laboratory tests.

[2] Antibodies enable to specifically detect the presence and organization of molecules in a tissue. There are as many antibodies as there are molecules present in a tissue and they may be species specific.

[3] Novotec is an SME based in Lyon which was founded in 1997 by a group of researchers from the Pasteur Institute, and for which Prof. Hartmann is the scientific advisor. It comprises a dozen employees, offers both the production and marketing of antibodies specific to the components of the extracellular matrix tissue and a tissue expertise and it also has a R&D Service. Novotec is certified ISO 9001: 2008 and is approved under the Research Tax Credit since 2002.