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Abstract：
Nanotechnology is revolutionizing fields of high social and economic impact. such as human health preservation, energy conversion and storage, environmental decontamination, and art restoration. However, the possible global-scale application of nanomaterials is raising increasing concerns, mostly related to the possible toxicity of materials at the nanoscale. The possibility of using nanomaterials in cosmetics, and hence in products aimed to be applied directly to the human body, even just externally, is strongly debated. Preoccupation arises especially from the consideration that nanomaterials are mostly of synthetic origin, and hence are often seen as \"artificial\" and their effects as unpredictable. Melanin, in this framework, is a unique material since in nature it plays important roles that specific cosmetics are aimed to cover, such as photoprotection and hair and skin coloration. Moreover, melanin is mostly present in nature in the form of nanoparticles, as is clearly observable in the ink of some animals, like cuttlefish. Moreover, artificial melanin nanoparticles share the same high biocompatibility of the natural ones and the same unique chemical and photochemical properties. Melanin is hence a natural nanocosmetic agent, but its actual application in cosmetics is still under development, also because of regulatory issues. Here, we critically discuss the most recent examples of the application of natural and biomimetic melanin to cosmetics and highlight the requirements and future steps that would improve melanin-based cosmetics in the view of future applications in the everyday market.
摘要：
纳米技术正在彻底改变具有高度社会和经济影响的领域。如人体健康保护，能量转换和储存，环境净化，艺术修复。然而,纳米材料可能在全球范围内的应用引起了越来越多的关注，主要与纳米级材料可能的毒性有关。在化妆品中使用纳米材料的可能性，因此，在旨在直接应用于人体的产品中，即使只是外部的，激烈辩论。特别是由于纳米材料主要是合成来源的考虑，因此通常被视为“人造”，其影响是不可预测的。黑色素,在这个框架中,是一种独特的材料，因为它在自然界中起着重要的作用，特定的化妆品旨在覆盖，例如光保护和头发和皮肤着色。此外，黑色素主要以纳米颗粒的形式存在于自然界中，从一些动物的墨水中可以清楚地观察到，像墨鱼一样.此外，人造黑色素纳米颗粒具有与天然纳米颗粒相同的高生物相容性和相同的独特化学和光化学特性。因此，黑色素是一种天然的纳米美容剂，但其在化妆品中的实际应用仍在开发中，也是因为监管问题。这里,我们批判性地讨论了天然和仿生黑色素在化妆品中应用的最新例子，并强调了在日常市场中未来应用改善黑色素基化妆品的要求和未来步骤。
