Anti-aging is one of the top goals in the field of health care and aesthetics. Anti-aging cosmetics derived from nature are oriented to long-term development, bringing safety to users and being environmentally friendly. The aim of this study was to develop an anti-aging cosmetic formulation process based on coconut oil in combination with deer antler stem cell extract. The results show that the presence of deer antler stem cell extract added to the foundation made the serum product highly stable and helped improve skin aging significantly after 2 weeks of use. The skin site where the serum product was applied showed a smooth and elastic skin surface, with very few fine lines and shallow wrinkles. Serum reduced the number of wrinkles (48.09% compared to commercial serum (ME) and 60.31% compared to positive control (PC)), reduced skin recovery time (39.31% compared to ME and 67.1% of PC) after two weeks of use. After 2 weeks of use, collagen density increased 10.18% compared to ME and 63.76% compared to control. Epidermal thickness increased by 106.1% compared to PC and 121.7% compared to ME.

Alpha-calcium sulfate hemihydrate (α-HH) has been used effectively in grafting through its desired features to support bone regeneration. In recent years, many synthetic methods have been proposed. Among them, the autoclave method for manufacturing α-HH is best suited for cost-savings due to its simple operation and limited use of additives. Despite these advantages, the synthesis of surgical grade products without the use of any additives has not yet been clearly discussed. In this study, surgical grade α-HH was successfully produced from calcium sulfate dihydrate (DH) using the autoclave method at an elevated temperature and pressure. The synthesized powder had a high purity of about 98.62% α-HH with a prismatic morphology (20.96 ± 8.83 µm in length and 1.30 ± 0.71 µm in diameter). The screening tests, in simulated body fluid (SBF) solution, for the product properties showed no bioactivity, and fast degradation accompanied by a slight decrease in pH. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay showed good biocompatibility of the material, however, its potential for cytotoxicity was also observed in NIH 3T3 cells. Briefly, despite some unfavorable properties, the autoclave-synthesized α-HH is a promising bone graft substitute that can be applied in orthopedic and maxillofacial surgeries.

Paclitaxel (PTX) and anastrozole (ANA) have been frequently applied in breast cancer treatment. PTX is well-known for its anti-proliferative effect meanwhile ANA has just been discovered to act as an estrogen receptor α (ERα) ligand. The combination therapy of PTX and ANA is expected to improve treating efficiency, as ANA would act as a ligand binding with the ERα gene expressed in breast cancer cells and thereafter PTX would inhibit the division and cause death to those cancer cells. In this study, liposome-based nanocarriers (LP) were developed for co-encapsulation of PTX and ANA to improve the efficacy of the combined drugs in an Estrogen receptor-responsive breast cancer study. PTX-ANA co-loaded LP was prepared using thin lipid film hydration method and was characterized for morphology, size, zeta potential, drug encapsulation and in vitro drug release. In addition, cell proliferation (WST assay) and IN Cell Analyzer were used for in vitro cytotoxicity studies on a human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7). Results showed that the prepared LP and PTX-ANA-LP had spherical vesicles, with a mean particle size of 170.1 ± 13.5 nm and 189.0 ± 22.1 nm, respectively. Controlled and sustained releases were achieved at 72 h for both of the loaded drugs. The in vitro cytotoxicity study found that the combined drugs showed higher toxicity than each single drug separately. These results suggested a new approach to breast cancer treatment, consisting of the combination therapy of PTX and ANA in liposomes based on ER response.