The Changes of Transepidermal Water Loss and the Recovery Rate of the Epidermal Permeability Barrier According to the Skin Surface Temperature and Temperature in a Diffusion Chamber

Min, Pok Kee; Kim, Do Won; Jun, Jae Bok; Chung, Sang Lip

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The epidermal permeability barrier resides in the intercellular spaces of the stratum corneum and is composed of lipids.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to measure the changes of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and the recovery rate of the epidermal permeability barrier according to the skin surface temperature(SST) using an evaporimeter after tape-stripping in vivo and after treatment with several kinds of solvent in vitro.
METHODS
In the in vivo study, basal TEWL and SST were measured on both flanks of the neonatal rats consisting of anesthetized and non-anesthetized groups. The epidermal barrier was disrupted by repeated tape-strippings which were terminated when the TEWL reached 20-50 gram/m2/h. TEWL and SST were measured immediately and 2.5, 6, 10, 24, 48 and 72 hours after tape-stripping. For the in vitro study, sheets of epidermis were separated from the circumcised prepuce, and were pretreated with acetone, petroleum ether or distilled water for 6 minutes. A piece of the separated epidermis was placed in a diffusion chamber, and TEWL was measured with an evaporimeter that was placed onto the top of the chamber over a temperature range of 25-37 degrees C in the chamber.
RESULTS
In the in vivo study, SST increased according to the elevation of the ambient temperature in neonatal rats with a statistical significance(p<0.05). The recovery rates of both non anesthetized and anesthetized groups increased in the higher SST especially during the first 10 hours. We observed the effect of the temperature in the diffusion chamber on TEWL after treatment with several kinds of solvent in vitro. The data obtained was plotted semi-logarithmically with TEWL as a function of temperature in the chamber, but there was no a statistical difference among the solvent treated groups.
CONCLUSION
According to the results of the study, SST should be clearly mentioned in any kind of studies concerning TEWL measurement. Further studies of the relationships between TEWL and SST are needed.