Abstract
FTIR imaging was performed on pig ear skin samples cryo-sectioned perpendicular to the skin surface. The OH-stretch region revealed the distribution of water; the amide II band gave the protein distribution; the C═O stretch and C–H stretch regions showed the variation in lipids. Water and proteins were similarly distributed. Triglycerides were predominantly found in the deeper skin layers whereas free fatty acids and ceramides were more dominant in the upper layers. ATR-FT-Far-IR spectroscopy with synchrotron radiation was used on full thickness pig ear skin biopsies. The Far-IR spectra showed bands in the region from 100–150 cm–1due to hydrogen bonded proteins and a band around 180 cm–1arising from “free” water.
Highlights
Human skin is a complex multi-layered organ which acts as a barrier to prevent water loss and to protect the body from chemical and microbial attack
This band is previously unassigned in the literature and as it plays an important role in the characterization and differentiation of human and pig ear skin [13] the assignment of the 1080 cm−1 band to proteins is a very important finding
The presence and content of ceramides is determined from the amide I and II bands at 1675 and 1555 cm−1 and from the relationship between the amide bands and the CH-stretching vibration bands of which the CH stretching vibration bands are the strongest ones in spectra of ceramides [20] and the amid bands are the strongest ones in spectra of skin proteins [1]
Summary
Human skin is a complex multi-layered organ which acts as a barrier to prevent water loss and to protect the body from chemical and microbial attack. The skin essentially consists of three layers – the epidermis, dermis and the subcutaneous fatty layer. The barrier function of skin is mainly dependent on the stratum corneum (SC) which is a part of the epidermis and is the outermost layer of the skin. Pig ear skin is a well-accepted and readily available model for the human barrier [26]. In the present study pig ear skin was studied using FTIR imaging on cryo-sectioned skin samples. The advantage of FTIR imaging, as compared to conventional FTIR measurements, is the ability of analyzing the spatial distribution of the skin constituents
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