Polynucleotides and PDRN for the skin: what the 2026 evidence says

Polynucleotides (PN) and PDRN (polydeoxyribonucleotide) have become very popular in aesthetic medicine, often marketed as “salmon DNA”. They are used as skin boosters to improve skin quality. How solid is the evidence?

What are they?

They are highly purified DNA fragments, mainly obtained from salmon or trout cells. They are not cells and contain no living material. They are thought to work by:

• Activating adenosine A2A receptors, which support tissue repair.
• Stimulating fibroblasts, the cells that produce collagen.
• Improving blood vessel formation and modulating inflammation.

The 2026 review

In July 2026, the journal Cureus published a systematic review of randomized clinical trials, the most reliable type of study. The authors searched PubMed, Embase and Cochrane through January 2026 and found:

• 7 trials with 183 participants in total.
• 4 on skin rejuvenation, 1 on post-surgical scar prevention and 2 on wound healing.

What did they find?

• Improvements in wrinkles, scar quality and patient satisfaction.
• The most consistent benefit was in wounds: PDRN sped up healing and shortened healing time compared with control groups.
• No serious treatment-related adverse events were reported.

The limitations

The authors are also clear about what is missing:

• The studies are few and small.
• They use different products, doses and protocols, so they cannot be pooled into a single analysis.
• They measure outcomes in different ways.
• Larger trials are needed to define where they work best and with which regimen.

In short

Polynucleotides and PDRN have a favorable safety profile and encouraging results, especially for healing. In aesthetics, the evidence is promising but still limited. As with any injectable procedure, what matters most is that it is performed by a trained health professional using a product with proper health registration.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace evaluation by a health professional. It has not been evaluated by the FDA.