Formulation and clinical evaluation of hyaluronic acid nanogel in treatment of tear trough: nano-flipping from injectable fillers to topical nanofillers.

Summary

A hyaluronic acid nanogel achieved 10-fold higher skin permeation than conventional HA gel and, in a randomized study of 30 women with tear trough deformity, significantly improved photomorphometric outcomes with no reported adverse events and 100% satisfaction. This suggests a potential noninvasive alternative to injectable fillers.

Key Findings

• Hyaluronic acid nanogel size 213.28 ± 4.15 nm, zeta potential −22.1 ± 1.07 mV; 10-fold higher permeation versus conventional HA gel.
• Randomized clinical evaluation (n=30 women) showed significant improvements in skin roughness, indentation index, mean density, and affected area percentage.
• Reported 100% patient satisfaction and no adverse effects in the nanogel arm.

Clinical Implications

May offer a safer, office-based topical option for patients averse to injections, but clinicians should await longer-term, blinded, multicenter evidence before broad adoption.

Limitations

• Small, single-center sample (n=30), female-only cohort; blinding and follow-up duration not reported.
• Magnitude of effect (e.g., “40-fold” reductions) warrants independent replication and standardized measurement reporting.

Future Directions

Conduct multicenter, double-blind RCTs with diverse populations and longer follow-up to assess durability, safety, and comparative effectiveness versus injectables.