Table 2. Skin Penetration of S. epidermidis after Treatment with ZMNs, Hypodermic Needle, or Biopsy Punch^a.

treatment	bacteria cfu in the receptor after 24 h of treatment (% of cfu adhered to the skin surface)	bacteria adhered to the hypodermic needle, ZMN or biopsy punch (% of cfu adhered to the skin surface)
hypodermic needle	4.2 ± 0.40 × 105 (3.29%)	0.0186 ± 0.0017 × 105 (0.14%)
ZMN treatment for 30 min	0.0563 ± 0.0079 × 105 (0.44%)	0.0641 ± 0.0091 × 105 (0.50%)
skin disruption with biopsy punch	7.03 ± 1.11 × 105 (47.5%)	0.641 ± 0.004 × 105 (5.03%)

^aThe values are represented as the percentage of colony-forming units found attached to the skin surface after equilibrating the skin surface with bacteria for 24 h. Data represent mean ± SD, n = 3.