Biomechanical barrier function of human stratum corneum
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The outermost layer of skin, the stratum corneum (SC), provides mechanical protection and acts as a controlled permeable barrier to the external environment while subject to highly variable conditions. The mechanical integrity of the skin is a critical and often overlooked component of overall skin health, and is vital for not only the feel and appearance of skin, but also for wound care, scar formation, biosensing, drug delivery, and technologies that interface with the skin, such as electronic tattoos. The effects of ubiquitous physiological and environmental conditions, including aging, solar ultraviolet (UV) exposure, and humidity, on the biomechanical barrier function of SC were examined, along with strategies for mitigating these effects and preserving the native biomechanical properties. Our results indicate that the combination of structural and mechanical property changes that occur with age and UV exposure, including changes to SC stiffness, cellular cohesion, and drying stress development, are quite significant and may contribute to the prevalence of skin disorders among the elderly. In addition, the hydration level of the SC is crucial for the barrier function and physical appearance of skin. Water loss causes the development of drying stresses, which provide a driving force for damage in the form of chapping and cracking. Emollient molecules are commonly used to alleviate dry skin conditions and some cause a significant alteration in the drying stress behavior of the SC. We characterized and modeled the SC's water loss profile with changes in humidity and applied emollient molecule composition. Engineering a suitable combination of emollient molecules has the potential to significantly reduce dry skin damage by removing the driving force for damage altogether.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2015 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Biniek, Krysta |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering. |
| Primary advisor | Dauskardt, R. H. (Reinhold H.) |
| Thesis advisor | Dauskardt, R. H. (Reinhold H.) |
| Thesis advisor | Gurtner, Geoffrey |
| Thesis advisor | Heilshorn, Sarah |
| Advisor | Gurtner, Geoffrey |
| Advisor | Heilshorn, Sarah |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Krysta Biniek. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2015. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2015 by Krysta Biniek
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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