Figure 6.

Ex vivo skin biomechanics. (A) A creep-recovery test was performed on skin samples loaded to 0.2N, held for 60 s, and then returned to 0N. Immediate deformation (B), delayed deformation (C), immediate recovery (D), and delayed recovery (E) were assessed. Control samples exhibited greater immediate deformation at all time points. All dynamic mechanical properties significantly changed with time (p < 0.01). Failure properties of control and UVB-treated skin were also assessed using tensile testing to failure at 2mm/s grip displacement. A toe-in region was present in all skin samples, followed by a linear region before failure (F). Maximum load at failure was significantly greater in control samples versus UVB treatment (G). Linear stiffness was increased in UVB samples at weeks 5 and 10 (H). Failure properties were not dependent on time in either group. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.