Mechanical properties of stratum corneum studied by nano-indentation

ABSTRACTStratum corneum acts as a barrier to protect our body, as well as a pathway for conducting skin sensations. Understanding the mechanical properties such as elasticity, yield stress, of stratum corneum is important to improve and develop new products in the personal care industry. In this work, structural properties of stratum corneum are studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging to reveal surface structure of stratum corneum. To study mechanical properties, AFM force measurements and nano-indentation techniques were used to characterize elastic properties of dry and wet stratum corneum. Nano-DMA measurements were also conducted to characterize visco-elastic properties of the same material.