I-Corps: A skin phenotype analysis technology using mass spectrometry (MS)-based molecular omics analysis with artificial intelligence (AI)

I-Corps项目的广泛影响和商业潜力将提供科学依据的见解，使消费者和专业人士能够在他们使用的护肤品方面做出明智的决定，并指导客户正确使用。消费者不了解自己皮肤的特性和需求，也不了解使用特定产品或成分的生化基础。因此，他们花费金钱和时间尝试新产品，并寻求专业帮助来管理他们的皮肤。该项目有可能为护肤品行业带来强有力的科学信息，这一行业在很大程度上是不受监管的，这可能会增加消费者对其护肤品有益使用的信心。这项技术可以改变直接面向消费者和专业市场，因为它能够提供商业机会，通过自我测试提高个人的整体健康水平。这种自我测试将推动护肤品制造商制定具有成分透明度的高质量产品（包括产品分析和成分质量控制），并将在家庭测试市场上创造竞争。这个I-Corps项目的重点是一种皮肤表型评估技术，使消费者能够对护肤品做出明智的选择。具体来说，基于质谱（MS）的分子组学分析和人工智能（AI）被用于确定适合个人独特皮肤的理想面部护肤品和/或成分。最先进的质谱分析在分子水平上阐明了皮肤细胞的组成（例如，氨基酸，神经酰胺）。该分子组合物可用于表征皮肤健康（例如，结构、功能、环境暴露和水合作用）。产品-皮肤契合AI基于护肤品中活性成分和常见成分的生物功能，将个人皮肤需求与现有产品相匹配。通过先前在动物模型中的工作，检测到5240种皮肤分析物，并确定了50种不同的脂质和代谢物类别。这些分子多样性的代谢物和脂质突出了皮肤细胞中包含的生物信息的深度。总之，皮肤表型技术将允许使用科学证明的数据来解决护肤行业的挑战（即皮肤效果欠佳，丢弃产品，宝贵时间的损失和消费者的金钱浪费），并允许个人实现他们的护肤需求。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impacts/commercial potential of this I-Corps project will provide scientifically-founded insights to empower consumers and professionals to make informed decisions regarding the skincare products they use and guide clients on proper use. Consumers lack an understanding of their skin properties and needs, as well as knowledge around the biochemical basis for the use of a particular product or ingredient. As a result, they spend money and time trying new products and seek professional assistance in managing their skin. This project has the potential to bring robust scientific information to the skincare industry, a sector that is largely unregulated, which may result in an increase of consumer confidence in the beneficial use of their skincare products. Both direct-to-consumer and professional markets can be transformed by this technology, owing to its ability to enable commercial opportunities that will increase the overall health and wellness of individuals through self-testing. This self-testing will drive skincare product manufacturers to formulate high-quality products with ingredient transparency (including product analysis and ingredient quality control) and will create competition in the home testing market. This I-Corps project focuses on a skin phenotype assessment technology to empower consumers to make informed choices about skincare products. Specifically, mass spectrometry (MS)-based molecular omics analysis and artificial intelligence (AI) are used to determine ideal facial skincare products and/or ingredients for an individual's unique skin. The state-of-the-art MS analysis illuminates the composition of skin cells at the molecular level (e.g., amino acids, ceramides). The molecular composition can be used to characterize skin health (e.g., structure, function, environmental exposures, and hydration). The product-skin fit AI matches the needs of the individual's skin to existing products based on the biological functions of active and common ingredients in skincare products. Through prior work in animal models, 5,240 skin analytes were detected and 50 different lipid and metabolite classes identified. These molecularly-diverse metabolites and lipids highlight the depth of biological information contained in skin cells. Taken together, the skin phenotype technology will allow for the use of scientifically proven data to address the challenges in the skincare industry (i.e. subpar skin results, discarded products, loss of valuable time, and wasted money for consumers) and allow individuals to achieve their skincare needs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.