Application of in-vivo laser scanning microscopy for evaluation of barrier creams

✍ Scribed by T. Rieger; A. Teichmann; H. Richter; W. Sterry; J. Lademann

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 185 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1612-2011
• DOI: 10.1002/lapl.200610076

✦ Synopsis

The occurrence of skin irritation and contact
dermatitis is a common problem in various occupational groups. The
use of barrier creams represents a frequently utilized
prophylactic measure for the protection of the skin, even if their
effectiveness is hotly debated. Up to now, a number of in-vivo and
in-vitro methods are in existence for the evaluation of barrier
creams (BC), which have shown different results regarding the
effectiveness of BC. The aim of the present study was the
application of the in-vivo laser scanning microscopy for the
evaluation of barrier creams. Therefore, sodium fluorescein was
applied topically to track its penetration. Three different
barrier creams were investigated (Vaseline (B) and 2 different
commercially available barrier creams (C and D)) and compared to a
reference area (A). It was shown that Vaseline represents a 100%
protection against sodium fluorescein as no fluorescence could be
detected in the stratum corneum. For barrier cream C, only a weak
fluorescent signal was detectable, while in the case of barrier
cream D, the fluorescent signal was comparable to that of the
reference skin area. The present study revealed that the laser
scanning microscopy represents an adequate, non-invasive, quick
in-vivo technique for the evaluation of BC that even tracks low
differences of effectiveness, which enables the ranking of BC.