Cell-based aging processes are one of Beiersdorf’s research focuses. A team of scientists from industry and universities plans to investigate them in more detail in a new research network called “AgeScreen,” which is being supported by Germany‘s Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Beiersdorf is coordinating this project, which forms part of the fourth phase of the biophotonics research focus and which includes biophysicists, biologists, chemists, and engineers, among others.
The goal is to develop a new optical technique permitting more rapid, systematic, and automatic testing of living cells. A non-invasive optical stretcher measures the cells’ elasticity by using two counter-propagating laser beams to deform individual living cells. This allows their viscoelastic properties to be calculated with a high degree of accuracy. The system is designed to be used in clinical diagnostics and in the search for pharmaceutical active ingredients, as well as to develop anti-aging products more effectively.
