Abstract
BackgroundMedical film dressings have been used to obtain skin microbiota for skin microbiome studies, although their adhesive force may be so strong that the skin could be injured when applied to those who have fragile skin, such as older people. Several products with less adhesive force are available, although their applicability for skin microbiome studies remains unknown. This study aimed to test whether the dressings with less adhesive force could be used for amplicon-based skin microbiome studies. A set of three different film dressings, with acrylic, urethane, or silicone adhesive, was applied to the back skin of nine healthy young participants. The copy number of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene, microbial compositions, and alpha and beta diversity indices were analyzed by amplicon analysis of the 16S rRNA gene using next-generation sequencing and were compared among the three film dressings.ResultsThe dressing with acrylic adhesive yielded the highest copy number of 16S rRNA genes, followed by that with urethane adhesive. The silicone-adhesive dressing yielded a significantly lower copy number of the 16S rRNA gene. The microbial composition of skin microbiota was similar among the three film dressings, although significant differences in the relative abundance of Pseudomonas species and alpha diversity indices were found in the silicone-adhesive dressing. The Bray–Curtis dissimilarity was significantly higher between the acrylic- and silicone-adhesive dressings than between the acrylic- and urethane-adhesive dressings. No adverse effects related to tape stripping were observed for any of the film dressings.ConclusionWe recommend dressings with acrylic or urethane adhesive for amplicon-based skin microbiome studies. An acrylic adhesive has an advantage in the yield of skin microbiota, and a urethane adhesive should be chosen when applied to fragile skin. The adhesive force of the dressing with silicone adhesive was too weak to be used for collecting skin microbiota.
Highlights
Medical film dressings have been used to obtain skin microbiota for skin microbiome studies, their adhesive force may be so strong that the skin could be injured when applied to those who have fragile skin, such as older people
An acrylic adhesive has an advantage in the yield of skin microbiota, and a urethane adhesive should be chosen when applied to fragile skin
The adhesive force of the dressing with silicone adhesive was too weak to be used for collecting skin microbiota
Summary
Medical film dressings have been used to obtain skin microbiota for skin microbiome studies, their adhesive force may be so strong that the skin could be injured when applied to those who have fragile skin, such as older people. This study aimed to test whether the dressings with less adhesive force could be used for amplicon-based skin microbiome studies. The relationship between host and skin bacteria has long been discussed in terms of pathogenicity [4], immunological interaction [5, 6], and physiological barrier function [7]. Studies on cutaneous bacteria and its relationship with the host have been accelerated by the development of high-throughput sequencing techniques, namely, next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) [8, 9]. As the skin harbors more diverse and less abundant microbiota than the other parts of our body (e.g., gut), a more careful design of skin microbiome studies is required [10]
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