Mechanical properties of human stratum corneum: Effects of temperature, hydration, and chemical treatment

An in vitro mechanics approach to quantify the intercellular delamination energy and mechanical behavior of isolated human stratum corneum (SC) in a direction perpendicular to the skin surface is presented. The effects of temperature, hydration, and a chloroform–methanol treatment to remove intercellular lipids were explored. The delamination energy for debonding of cells within the SC layer was found to be sensitive to the moisture content of the tissue and to the test temperature. Delamination energies for untreated stratum corneum were measured in the range of 1–8 J/m2 depending on test temperature. Fully hydrated specimen energies decreased with increasing temperature, while room-humidity-hydrated specimens exhibited more constant values of 2–4 J/m2. Lipid-extracted specimens exhibited higher delamination energies of ∼12 J/m2, with values decreasing to ∼4 J/m2 with increasing test temperature. The peak separation stress decreased with increasing temperature and hydration, but lipid-extracted specimens exhibited higher peak stresses than untreated controls. The delaminated surfaces revealed an intercellular failure path with no evidence of tearing or fracture of cells. The highly anisotropic mechanical behavior of the SC is discussed in relation to the underlying SC structure.