A survey on the cosmetic use of injectable polynucleotide: The pattern of practice among Korean Dermatologists
Open accessAbstract
Background: Skin boosters denote injectables that promote global improvement of the skin which includes skin texture, elasticity, hydration, and overall appearance. Polynucleotide (PN) products have become popular, but there is surprisingly little guidance on their use. We aimed to maximize the safety and efficacy of injectable PN by providing information on their pattern of practice among board‐certified dermatologists. Methods: A total of 235 Korean board‐certified dermatologists familiar with skin boosters participated in a survey which questioned the participant's years of practice, selection of skin boosters in one's clinic, and range of lasers and light sources as well as skin care devices that are available. For those who use PN, one was asked to check all its aesthetic indications, mode of delivery, injection depth, treatment interval as well as options for combined therapy. Results: Seventy‐one percent of the survey participants had at least 5 years of professional experience as a board‐certified dermatologist, and among the different skin boosters, 88% replied that they practiced PN injection. The top six indications for PN were fine lines on the cheek followed by infraorbital fine lines, periorbital fine lines, uneven skin texture, dry skin, and fine lines on the forehead. Many opted for a 33G needle and the serial puncture technique targeting the dermis. A total of three sessions of PN injection spaced 4 weeks apart is most often recommended. 79 percent of PN users blended PN injection with lasers and light therapy with the most popular being radiofrequency (non‐invasive, needle RF) and high‐intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). Conclusion: PN is a skin booster which is widely practiced among Korean dermatologists. According to our survey, the best indication of PN is facial fine lines, and as such PN injection is often repeated and combined with a variety of non‐surgical rejuvenation procedures. We hope our data help dermatologists better understand and utilize PN injection.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the periorbital region, PN injections were well-tolerated and associated with minimal side effects.
“These benefits were particularly evident in the periorbital region, where PN injections were well-tolerated and associated with minimal side effects [14,170].”
From Comparison of Polynucleotide and Polydeoxyribonucleotide in Dermatology: Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Perspectives (2025) · cites this paper as [14]
The Discussion describes PN injections as causing a fair amount of discomfort and says lateral canthal lines are prone to bruising. It also mentions bumps and downtime from intradermal injection. Although the survey identifies periorbital fine lines as an indication for PN, it does not characterize injections there as well-tolerated with minimal side effects. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn a randomized, double-blind, split-face trial, PN-based fillers demonstrated superior outcomes to HA fillers in improving skin roughness, pore size, and hydration.
“Notably, in a randomized, double-blind, split-face trial, PN-based fillers demonstrated superior outcomes to those of HA fillers in terms of improving skin roughness, pore size, and hydration.”
From Comparison of Polynucleotide and Polydeoxyribonucleotide in Dermatology: Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Perspectives (2025) · cites this paper as [14]
The References section (page unavailable) lists a randomized, double-blind, split-face trial comparing PN and HA fillers, but gives no results. The Discussion and survey Results (pages unavailable) do not report whether PN was superior for skin roughness, pore size, or hydration; searches for those outcomes found no such comparison in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Polydeoxyribonucleotide: A Promising Biological Platform to Accelerate Impaired Skin Wound Healing
Galeano, M., Pallio, G., Irrera, N., Mannino, F., Bitto, A., Altavilla, D., Vaccaro, M., Squadrito, G., Arcoraci, V., Colonna, M. R., et al. (2021) · Pharmaceuticals · doi:10.3390/ph14111103 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 17
- Arora G, Arora S, Sadoughifar R, Batra N. Biorevitalization of the skin with skin boosters: concepts, variables, and limitations. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2021;20(8):2458-2462.
- Squadrito F, Bitto A, Irrera N, et al. Pharmacological activity and clinical use of PDRN. Front Pharmacol. 2017;8:224.
- Aawrish K, Guobao W, Feng Z, et al. Polydeoxyribonucleotide: a promising skin anti-aging agent. Chin J Plastic Reconstruct Surg. 2022;4(4):187-193.
- Park KY, Seok J, Rho NK, Kim BJ, Kim MN. Long-chain polynucle- otide filler for skin rejuvenation: efficacy and complications in five patients. Dermatol Ther. 2016;29(1):37-40.
- Lee YJ, Kim HT, Lee YJ, et al. Comparison of the effects of poly- nucleotide and hyaluronic acid fillers on periocular rejuvenation: a randomized, double-blind, split-face trial. J Dermatolog Treat. 2022;33(1):254-260.
- Sini P, Denti A, Cattarini G, Daglio M, Tira ME, Balduini C. Effect of polydeoxyribonucleotides on human fibroblasts in primary culture. Cell Biochem Funct. 1999;17(2):107-114.
- Thellung S, Florio T, Maragliano A, Cattarini G, Schettini G. Polydeoxyribonucleotides enhance the proliferation of human skin fibroblasts: involvement of A2 purinergic receptor subtypes. Life Sci. 1999;64(18):1661-1674.
- Cavallini M, Papagni M. Long-chain polynucleotide gel and skin biorevitalization. J Plast Dermatol. 2007;3:3.
- Cavallini M, Bartoletti E, Maioli L, et al. Consensus report on the use of PN-HPT™ (polynucleotides highly purified technology) in aesthetic medicine. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2021;20(3):922-928.
- Jeong GJ, Ahn GR, Park SJ, Hong JY, Kim BJ. A randomized, pa- tient/evaluator-blinded, split-face study to compare the efficacy and safety of polycaprolactone and polynucleotide fillers in the correction of crow's feet: the latest biostimulatory dermal filler for crow's feet. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2020;19(7):1593-1599.
- Vedamurthy M. Beware what you inject: complications of Injectables-dermal fillers. J Cutan Aesthet Surg. 2018;11(2):60-66.
- Rho NK, Gil YC. Botulinum neurotoxin type a in the treatment of facial seborrhea and acne: evidence and a proposed mechanism. Toxins (Basel). 2021;13(11):817.
- Shuo L, Ting Y, KeLun W, Rui Z, Rui Z, Hang W. Efficacy and possi- ble mechanisms of botulinum toxin treatment of oily skin. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2019;18(2):451-457.
- Park JY, Cho SI, Hur K, Lee DH. Intradermal microdroplet injection of diluted Incobotulinumtoxin-a for sebum control, face lifting, and pore size improvement. J Drugs Dermatol. 2021;20(1):49-54.
- Suh DH, Byun EJ, Lee SJ, Song KY, Kim HS. Clinical efficacy and safety evaluation of a novel fractional unipolar radiofrequency device on facial tightening: a preliminary report. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2017;16(2):199-204.
- Suh DH, Hong ES, Kim HJ, Lee SJ, Kim HS. A survey on monop- olar radiofrequency treatment: the latest update. Dermatol Ther. 2020;33(6):e14284.
- Suh DH, Choi JH, Lee SJ, Jeong KH, Song KY, Shin MK. Comparative histometric analysis of the effects of high-intensity focused ultrasound and radiofrequency on skin. J Cosmet Laser Ther. 2015;17(5):230-236.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Abuyousif, H. S., Porcello, A., Cerrano, M., Marques, C., Scaletta, C., Lourenço, K., Abdel-Sayed, P., Chemali, M., Raffoul, W., Hirt-Burri, N., et al. (2025) · Polymers · doi:10.3390/polym17050638 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Kim, S. T. (2025) · Pharmaceutics · doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics17081024 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
- Authors
- Rho, N. K., Han, K. H., Cho, M., & Kim, H. S.
- Affiliations
- Sungkyunkwan University (KR)
- Nature Dermatology Clinic Seoul Korea
- The Catholic University of Korea Incheon St. Mary's Hospital (KR)
- Corresponding author
- Kim, Hei Sung
- Venue
- Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2023-12-13
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1243-1252
- ISSN
- 1473-2130 (ISSN-L)
- 1473-2165
- OpenAlex
- W4389742195
- Cited by
- 37
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 5
- FWCI
- 10.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Facial Rejuvenation and Surgery Techniques
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Dermatologic Treatments and Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Skin Protection and Aging
- Keywords
- cosmetic injectables, dermatologist survey, skin rejuvenation, radiofrequency, high-intensity focused ultrasound, injection depth, treatment interval
- MeSH terms
- Dermatologists, Cosmetic Techniques, Cosmetics, Face, Humans, Polynucleotides, Rejuvenation, Skin, Skin Aging, Republic of Korea
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
