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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Aug 28.
Published in final edited form as: J Biomech. 2008 Jul 30;41(12):2689–2695. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2008.06.008

Viscoelastic Response of Human Skin to Low Magnitude Physiologically Relevant Shear

Brian Holt 1,2, Anubhav Tripathi 2,3, Jeffrey Morgan 1,2
PMCID: PMC2584606  NIHMSID: NIHMS69205  PMID: 18672246

Abstract

Percutaneous implants are a family of devices that penetrate the skin and all suffer from the same problems of infection because the skin seal around the device is not optimal. Contributing to this problem is the mechanical discontinuity of the skin/device interface leading to stress concentrations and micro-trauma that chronically breaks any seal that forms. In this paper, we have quantified the mechanical behavior of human skin under low-magnitude shear loads over physiological relevant frequencies. Using a stress-controlled rheometer, we have performed isothermal (37°C) frequency response experiments between 0.628 to 75.39rad/s at 0.5% and 0.04% strain on whole skin and dermis-only, respectively. Step-stress experiments of 5 and 10Pa shear loads were also conducted as were strain sweep tests (6.28rad/s). Measurements were made of whole human skin and skin from which the epidermis was removed (dermis-only). At low frequencies (0.628 to 10rad/s), the moduli are only slightly frequency dependent, with approximate power-law scaling of the moduli, G′ ~ G″ ~ ωβ, yielding β = 0.05 for whole skin and β = 0.16 for dermis-only samples. Step-stress experiments revealed three distinct phases. The intermediate phase included elastic “ringing” (damped oscillation) which provided new insights and could be fit to a mathematical model. Both the frequency and step stress response data suggests that the epidermis provides elastic rigidity and dermis provides viscoelasticity to the whole skin samples. Hence, whole skin exhibited strain hardening while the dermis-only demonstrated stress softening under step-stress conditions. The data obtained from the low magnitude shear loads and frequencies that approximate the chronic mechanical environment of a percutaneous implant should aid in the design of a device with an improved skin seal.

Keywords: human skin, dermis, shear, rheology, viscoelastic, creep

Introduction

Percutaneous medical devices that penetrate the skin include indwelling catheters, dialysis ports, feeding tubes, and external bone fixation devices [Jacobsson 1991, Paquay, et al. 1996]. There are over a million percutaneous devices implanted annually in the United States and all are designed to function for relatively short periods of time (weeks to months) because of the well known risk of infection of this entire family of devices [Jacobsson 1991]. The skin seal around these devices is not stable, nor secure. There are several instances where medical devices needed for long term implantation have undergone re-engineering to circumvent this problem of the skin interface such as cochlear implants which are now wireless [Goto, et al. 2001]. Another percutaneous device under consideration for long term implantation is a transcutaneous osseointegrated device for limb restoration [McClarence 1993]. Integration of this device with bone is acceptable and osseointegration is a well established phenomenon in orthopedic implants [Palacci 1995]. However, integration of the device with soft tissue (skin) suffers from the same problems as those limiting all percutaneous devices. Thus, a solution to the problem of skin integration could improve the safety/performance of current devices and enable the design of new devices for long term implantation.

One area not usually considered is the mismatch in the mechanical properties of the device and the skin as well as the stress concentrations that occur as a result of this mismatch. The compliance mismatch of a synthetic graft and a native artery is thought to be a factor that leads to failure of vascular grafts [Conklin, et al. 2002, Kim, et al. 1993]. In skin, the stress concentrations at the skin/device interface due to this mismatch facilitate repeated micro-trauma breaking any seal and leading to chronic wounding [Cacou, et al. 1995, David, et al. 2004, Jacobsson 1991, von Recum 1984, von Recum, et al. 1981, Wang, et al. 2003]. Biaxial tension is the dominant load in human skin and has applications with regards to various biomedical devices. However in percutaneous systems the relative motion at the skin/device interface caused by device movement and soft-tissue inertia during physical activity fosters shearing that prevents the wound healing process, cellular adhesion, and tissue integration. Shear loading in skin related biomedical applications is another area not often investigated. Shear, even at low-magnitudes, is a highly destructive loading modality, especially when applied over the long time periods of an implant. Although the viscoelastic properties of skin are well established from torsional, uni- or bi-axial measurements, there is a wide range of elastic moduli reported and the tests do not approximate the chronic physiologically relevant shear conditions that exist at an implant [Diridollou, et al. 1998, Grahame, et al. 1969, Khatyr, et al. 2006, Panisset, et al. 1992, Silver, et al. 2001].

In this study, we measured the mechanical behavior of human skin subjected to low-magnitude shear loads over a range of physiologically relevant frequencies. Strain sweep, frequency response, as well as creep and recovery measurements were made on whole human skin and human skin from which the epidermis was removed (dermis-only). In addition to providing a range of highly accurate values of elastic (G’) and viscous (G”) moduli in response to physiologically relevant chronic shear stresses, the step stress measurements revealed an interesting ringing or damped oscillation. This ringing is commonly seen with polymer-based fluids and provides new insight. The step-stress data was fit to a mathematical model which should aid the design of percutaneous devices that might minimize these shear conditions at the skin/device interface.

Materials and Methods

Frequency response measurements

Small amplitude oscillatory measurements were performed on uniform samples (6 mm punch biopsies) of whole human skin or skin from which the epidermis was removed (dermis only) using a controlled-stress rheometer (AR-2000N, TA Instruments, Newcastle, DE) with parallel plate geometry (8 mm diameter) and specimen-dependent gap lengths. Samples were placed, dermal side down, on waterproof sandpaper (~20 by 10 mm) (Norton 320 Grit, Saint-Gobain Inc, Worcester, MA) held to the bottom plate by double sided adhesive tape (Scotch 666, 3M, St. Paul, MN) for no-slip shear [Tsubouchi, et al. 2006].

The 8mm driven plate of the rheometer was lowered to a gap of 400 to 780 µm, depending on the thickness of the biopsy. Critical to this loading protocol was the maintenance of a compressive normal force between 0.02 and 0.06N. Within this range sample spreading, uninhibited by boundary constraints (i.e. ring-guards), ensured the complete straining of the material and a pre-loading condition that mimicked skin’s in situ tensile state. Additionally, it was determined an oscillatory torque greater than 10 µN·m was required for accurate characterization. Within this range, sufficient contact was maintained between the upper, driven plate and the epidermis to ensure constant shearing without slippage. The no slip boundary condition between sample and rheometer geometry was confirmed by monitoring the magnitude of shear stress and its repeatability over different samples. The biopsies were wet with 1mL of PBS and all measurements performed at 37°C. For oscillatory testing, strains of 0.5% were applied over a frequency range of 0.628 to 75.398rad/s that were divided into two frequency sweeps to ease data collection; a higher range (6.283 to 75.398rad/s) and a lower range (0.628 to 6.283rad/s). Specimens were loaded from high to low frequencies to maintain the optimal oscillatory torque and ten data points were sampled per decade.

Creep and recovery measurements

For creep and recovery experiments, biopsies were loaded in two phases: first a creep phase and then a recovery phase with no equilibration step between phases, ensuring an accurate viscoelastic step-stress measurement. Each phase was approximately 300s long, ensuring complete creep and recoil. The creep phase was conducted with two applied shear stresses, 5 and 10 Pa (~0.0007 and 0.0014 psi). The oscillatory torque range for the creep phase was determined from the oscillatory experiments and torque values were 0.0503 and 1.0053 µN·m for the 5 and 10 Pa creep experiments, respectively. The recovery experiments were conducted with no applied shear stress. Upon completion of the two phases, the specimens were visually inspected to ensure that there had not been macro-scale destruction of the specimens that would affect the reliability of the creep and recovery data.

Results and Discussion

Frequency response measurements

Constant strain was applied to the whole skin or dermis only samples over frequencies ranging from 0.628 to 75.40rad/s (Figure 1). The whole skin samples were investigated at 0.5% strains. However, strains of 0.05% could only be achieved in the dermis only samples due to slip between the top plate and samples. The data from ten whole skin biopsies and ten dermis-only biopsies shows clearly that the elastic modulus (G’) and viscous modulus (G”) increases with frequency of oscillation. The viscoelasticity has two distinct contributions. At low frequencies (0.628 to 10rad/s), the rate of increase for G’ and G” is gradual (G′ ~ G ″ ~ ω0.05) for both whole skin and dermis-only. This behavior is nearly frequency independent, consistent with observations in F-actin gels and keratin/intermediate filament systems [Gardel, et al. 2004, Ma, et al. 1999, Ma, et al. 2001, Shin, et al. 2004]. The rate of increase of G’ and G” (G′ ~ G″ ~ ω0.16) is more pronounced for the dermis-only suggesting that the epidermis provides elastic rigidity. At higher frequencies (>10rad/s), the rate of increase in G’ and G” for whole skin and dermis-only both accelerated (G′ ~ G″ ~ ω0.5–1.0) with the effect more pronounced for the dermis-only, especially G’. This suggests that the viscoelastic components of the dermis dominate at higher frequencies due to the inability of the viscous components to adapt to the rate of load application.

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Figure 1

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Linear viscoelastic response. Whole skin (A) and dermis-only (B) biopsies were subjected to isothermal (37°C) oscillatory strains of 0.5% and 0.04%, respectively between frequencies of 0.628 and 75.398rad/s. The resulting G’ and G” values at various frequencies were measured. (C) Dynamic viscosity as a function of frequency for whole skin and dermis only.

Across the entire frequency range tested, the G” and G’ curves did not intersect showing that under low magnitude oscillatory shear the viscoelastic behavior of the human skin is primarily elastic in nature. This is further supported by the calculated phase angle for whole skin and the dermis, with mean values of approximately 12.39° and 13.12°, respectively. Both of these values are within the elastic range for phase angles. Also consistent with observations in F-actin gels and keratin/intermediate filament systems [Gardel, et al. 2004, Ma, et al. 1999, Ma, et al. 2001, Shin, et al. 2004]. This finding supports the description of the skin as a viscoelastic solid and suggests that the thermal fluctuations of the skin network dominate the frequency-dependent mechanical response of the network.

Lastly, the dynamic viscosities η′ (ω)= G″/ω of skin samples can be evaluated using equation (1). Both whole skin and dermis-only showed shear thinning behavior, approximating power law scaling for dynamic viscosity, η′=νωn−1, yielded n = 0.125 and ν = 85.37 Pa·sn for whole skin samples and n = 219 and ν = 130 61 Pa·sn for dermis only samples.

Creep measurements

To measure creep, we applied a time dependent shear stress and measured the resulting shear strain. A constant stress σ0 was applied at t = 0 to the biopsy and time related compliance, as given by

J(t)=γ(t)σ0, (3)

was measured. For very small values of σ0, the compliance contains the same information as G′ and G″.

Shear loads of 5Pa and 10Pa were applied to whole skin and dermis-only for 300s at 37°C and creep compliances were measured (Figure 2). Interestingly, we found that the creep response followed three distinct phases; an initial elastic creep, an intermediate viscoelastic ringing and a long-term viscous creep. The initial elastic creep phase represents the elastic capacity of whole skin in response to the application of a step-stress. The whole skin biopsies showed an initial elastic response of ~1.74s for both applied stresses of 5Pa and 10Pa. In contrast, the dermis-only showed ~ 2.84s of the initial elastic response for both applied stresses. Noticeably, the dermis-only showed higher compliance for larger stresses suggesting that the dermis suffered the permanent strains in the non-linear regime. The intermediate viscoelastic creep ringing phase with its characteristic oscillating behavior in the compliance J(t) data is the product of both a specific instrument’s inertia [Ewoldt, et al. 2007] and a material’s specific inertio-elastic oscillation. In the creep experiments, this value is time-dependent. From approximately 1.7s to 7s for both stresses (5Pa and 10Pa), this inertio-elastic oscillation dominated the mechanical behavior of whole-skin and dermis-only. The amplitude of the oscillations and the number of oscillations was greater for whole skin versus dermis-only, but the time to fully dampen the oscillations was approximately the same (~8s). The third phase (>8s) of prolonged viscous creep was present in both whole skin and dermis-only and showed a ramped increase in compliance under load until the end of the experiment.

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Figure 2

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Creep compliance as a function of time. Whole skin (A) and dermis-only (B) biopsies were subjected to isothermal (37°C) shear creep loads of 5 and 10Pa and the resulting strain and compliance data was measured in order to quantify the low magnitude shear stress creep behavior for the two types of soft-tissue.

Based on the creep data, the dermis is significantly more compliant than whole skin, again implying that much of the elastic rigidity is provided by the epidermis. The whole skin shows ~20% of the compliance demonstrated by the dermis. Thus, whole skin can be treated as a two part keratin/polymer composite, consisting of an elastic solid (epidermis) and a viscous elastic fluid-like component (dermis). This depiction is further supported by the whole skin and dermis-only recovery data (See Supplemental Section).

Also of note is the observation that the creep compliance of whole skin was greater in response to the lower (5Pa) shear stress, whereas the opposite was true for the dermis-only, in which the creep compliance was greater in response to the application of the higher shear stress (10Pa). This again suggests that for whole skin samples, which have a stiff elastic epidermal layer, the modulus increases with applied stress. This type of strain hardening behavior is also observed in vimentin biopolymer networks[Janmey, et al. 1991]. On the contrary, the dermis-only showed an increase in modulus with applied stress suggesting that the dermis layer shows a strain softening effect which is common in cross-linked actin networks[Tharmann, et al. 2007].

Mathematical models

To apply these findings to more complex loading conditions, a mathematical model used to describe viscoelastic materials was fit to the strain data of the shear-based creep experiments. A modified Kelvin-Voight model was chosen based on previous studies that used this modified model to describe the damped inertio-elastic oscillations (ringing) observed in other viscoelastic solid materials [Ewoldt, et al. 2007]. The Kelvin-Voight model is a two parameter system consisting of a Newtonian dashpot (viscosity ηk) and Hookean spring (modulus Gk) in parallel (Figure 3A). Even though the storage modulus G″ does not capture the frequency response observed in this study, the model can still be used to understand elastic modulus of skin samples. A back calculation method was applied to the damped inertio-elastic oscillation (due to instrument inertia I) regions of the creep experiments to determine the relevant values of springs and dash-pots. The creep strain behavior, Γ(t) of whole skin and dermis-only biopsies was fitted using the following expression for Kelvin- Voight stain: γ(t)=γK{1−e−AKt[cos⁡(ωKt)+AKωKsin(ωKt)]},whereγK=τoGK,AK=ηK2b2I,ωK=(GKbI−AK2)andb=πR42h. Here, R and h are the radius and thickness of samples, respectively. For whole skin, this model reasonably captures both elastic and ultimate creep compliance for the 10 and 5 Pa simulations (Figure 3B and 3C). By optimizing the equations for the best-fit, values for ηK (coefficient of viscosity) and GK (spring constant) were determined. The mean ηK and GK (±SD) values calculated from the 10 Pa shear creep experiments were 26.62 ± 7.26 Pa·s and 271.1 ± 111.1 Pa, respectively. The mean ηK and GK (±SD) values obtained from the 5 Pa shear creep experiments were 22.86 ± 4.71 Pa·s and 276.7 ± 135.3 Pa, respectively (Table 1). These values were applied in the following expressions: G′=GK and G″=ηKω to solve for the elastic (G’) and viscous (G”) moduli of whole skin. After obtaining ηK and GK, the model utilized a frequency-based simulation to calculate a value for G’ and a range of G” values. To verify the accuracy of the model, we applied a frequency range similar to the earlier oscillatory experiments (0.628 to 11.95rad/s). For simulations based on the 10 Pa shear creep experiments on whole skin, the calculated mean G’ (±SD)was 257.5 ± 111.6 Pa and the mean range for G” (±SD) over the frequency range of 0.628 to 11.95rad/s was 16.72 ± 4.56 to 318.1 ± 86.81 Pa (Figure 3D). For simulations based on the 5 Pa shear creep experiments of whole skin, the calculated mean G’ (±SD) was 255.4 ± 150.5 Pa and the mean range for G” (±SD) over the same frequency range was 14.08 ± 2.92 to 252.3 ± 93.02 Pa (Figure 3E) While the Kelvin-Voigt model accurately predicts the elastic and ultimate compliance phase of the step-stress experiments, it does not completely capture the damped interio-elastic oscillatory phase (viscoelastic creep ringing) and, consequently, the viscous creep phase. When the model was used to determine the storage and loss moduli of human skin during oscillatory loading, the percent error between the G’ data and the model fit is approximately 35%. But with a model of this simplicity applied to a material of this complexity this fit is encouraging. The linear relationship between G” and the applied frequency diverge quickly from the mechanical behavior measured during experimentation. In order to fully capture the viscoelastic behavior of human skin a more complex viscoelastic model will need to be developed.

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Figure 3

Figure 3

Figure 3

Figure 3

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(A) Schematic of Kelvin-Voigt viscoselastic solid model. (B) Whole Skin, 10Pa Kelvin-Voigt model simulation; (C) Whole Skin, 5Pa Kelvin-Voigt model simulation; (D) 10Pa Kelvin-Voigt model fit applied to oscillatory response data; (E) 5Pa Kelvin-Voigt model fit applied to oscillatory response data These models were intended to mimic the inertio-elastic oscillations observed during the creep experiments in order to determine the G’ and G” values associated with the two soft-tissue’s shear creep response. Parameters were optimized using an iterative simulation process, allowing for the back-calculation of the respective G’ and G” values

Table 1.

Presented is a numerical comparison of the G’ and G” values obtained from the whole skin oscillatory response experiments and the elastic and viscous moduli values predicted by the 5 and 10Pa Kelvin-Voigt model simulations in a physiologically relevant frequency range (0.6283 to 11.95 rad/s).

ωK G’ (Pa) G” (Pa)
Experimental Data N/A 361.9 ± 93.7 to
447.7 ± 119.2		 91.5 ± 21.2 to
97.0±27.5
Kelvin-Voigt Approximation, 10Pa Simulation 2.91 ± 1.17 257.5 ± 111.6 16.72 ± 4.56 to
318.1 ± 86.81
Kelvin-Voigt Approximation, 5Pa Simulation 3.40±1.09 255.4 ± 150.5 14.08 ± 2.92 to
252.3 ± 93.02
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Conclusions

Biaxial tension is the dominant load in human skin, however at the interface of skin and a percutaneous device, the relative motion of the device and the inertia of skin during routine physical activity fosters shearing that prevents the formation of an adequate skin seal. We measured the viscoelastic response of human skin to low magnitude shear loads over a range of physiologically relevant frequencies (0.628 to 75.39rad/s at 37°C). The mean elastic (G′) and viscous (G”) moduli in whole skin increased over the frequency range from 325.0 ± 93.7 Pa to 1227.9 ± 498.8 Pa and 68.5 ± 21.2 Pa to 189.9 ± 56.0 Pa, respectively. Dermis-only showed a similar trend with mean G’ and G” values increasing from 434.9 ± 122.1 Pa to 6620.0 ± 849.5 Pa and 126.3 ± 34.5 Pa to 458.6 ± 134.9 Pa, respectively. Hence, in oscillatory response experiments, G’ and G” increased gradually over the entire frequency range with values of G’ consistently higher than G” for both whole skin and dermis only samples. Values of G’ and G” were slightly higher for dermis only samples compared to whole skin. Across this range of frequencies and under these low magnitude shear loads, skin is a complex viscoelastic composite with a rigidly elastic upper epidermal layer and an underlying viscoelastic dermal layer. In shear step-stress experiments, whole skin showed strain hardening, while the dermis-only showed stress softening. The data could be fit to a Kelvin-Voigt model with parameters, ηK and GK, that could approximate G’ and G” over the same oscillatory response frequency range.

Several approaches have been used to measure the biomechanics of human skin including tensile (uni- or bi-axial), torsion and suction tests. Tensile studies performed in vitro on excised human skin used uni-axial and biaxial load regimes and vary significantly in applied loads and strains(Marks 1991; Silver, Freeman et al. 2001). The load regimes in these studies do not approximate the chronic shear environment of the skin around percutaneous devices. With those qualifiers in mind, the studies available for a comparative discussion were primarily reduced to in vivo studies. Torsion tests have also been applied to skin in vivo. Small angular displacements have been used to measure the resultant strain allowing for the quantification of skin’s elasticity and extensibility. Sanders et. al., applied an oscillatory torque of 0.83 µN·m to investigate the step-stress behavior of human forearms (ages 6 to 61 years) and reported modulus of elasticity values ranging from 2.3 × 10−2 to 6.2 × 10−2 MPa [Sanders 1973]. Agache et. al., applied an oscillatory torque of 28.6 µN·m (ages 3 to 89 years), measured immediate distension, final distension of loading, delayed distension, and immediate retraction [Agache, et al. 1980]. Moduli of elasticity for young and old individuals were 0.42 and 0.85 MPa, respectively [Agache, et al. 1980]. Escoffier et. al. applied oscillatory torques of 2.3 and 10.4 µN·m (ages 8 to 98 years) measured immediate deformation, viscoelastic deformation, immediate recovery, and creep relaxation time and reported a modulus of elasticity of 1.12 MPa [Escoffier, et al. 1989]. Each of these studies applied only one or two oscillatory torque values and did not test the skin’s response to the full range of values that simulates loads associated ambulation. The values obtained in these studies were based on a mathematical approximation that treats the skin as an elastic isotropic plate, this technique differs from our direct measure of G′ and G″ Additionally, Agache et al. and Escoffier et al. included a guard ring that restricts sample spreading, a boundary condition restriction not present in this study. (For a discussion of suction based experiments please see the Supplemental Section)

The frequency range tested in our oscillatory shear experiments (0.628 to 75.39rad/s) corresponds to a range of every day activities (0.1 to 12 Hz) that covers the principle levels of ambulatory activity of walking, jogging, and running [Danion, et al. 2003, Farley, et al. 1996, Gutmann, et al. 2006, Kokshenev 2004]. Over this range, we observed a reproducible and concise range of values for G’ and G”. Similarly, the low magnitude step-stress experiments yielded important insight into the viscoelastic behavior of skin. We observed strain hardening in the whole skin and stress softening in the dermis-only, suggesting that the epidermis provides the more rigidly elastic behavior of human skin, while the dermis provides a viscous, fluid-like foundation. This description of human skin as a two part solid-like fluid composite is also supported by the inertio-elastic ringing seen in our measurements. It should be noted that inertio-elastic ringing relies heavily on the instrument used for mechanical characterization and may vary from one instrument to another. That being said, inertio-elastic ringing has been observed in step-stress rheological studies of biopolymer gels, but has not been reported for human skin [Ewoldt, et al. 2007]. A viscoelastic model, modified for this ringing behavior, provided a very accurate fit to the inertio-elastic ringing observed when measuring a mucous biopolymer [Ewoldt, et al. 2007] and may have applications for human skin.

The aim of this study was to investigate the low magnitude shear loading behavior of human skin as a means to understand the mechanics of skin around percutaneous devices. Although skin can attach to these devices, an adequate and long lasting seal is never formed due in part to the stress concentrations at the skin/device interface and the chronic low level shear forces that break this seal. While other studies have measured the mechanical behavior of skin, none have examined the response to low magnitude shear forces over a range of frequencies that cover the normal range of physical activity. An important finding of this study is the relatively narrow range of G’ and G” values in response to this range of frequencies. This narrow range of gradually increasing moduli will be helpful for the development of a finite element based simulation of the soft-tissue-to-device interface. And, this data indicates that it may be possible to design an interface that can dissipate stress at this interface. A second finding is the inertio-elastic ringing behavior which has never been reported for skin. In rheometry, creep ringing is often ignored in data analysis. But, if properly interpreted, ringing has been shown to provide a valuable extended data set in that critical transition phase between elastic creep and viscous creep [Ewoldt, et al. 2007]. Moreover, we’ve used the ringing data as a means to verify our viscoelastic measurements in the forced oscillations experiments and a modified Kelvin Voight model that accounts for ringing was used in our simulations. Thus, the ringing data will help improve our understanding and modeling of the complex viscoelastic behavior of skin in the magnitude loads and frequencies critical to improving the skin seal around percutaneous devices.

Supplementary Material

01
02. Supplemental Figure 1.

Schematic of experimental set up for processing human skin and measuring viscoelastic behavior. Human skin was dissected with the aid of a microscope and uniform circular samples were created using a 6mm diameter biopsypunch (A). Circular skin samples were placed into the rheometer, epidermis side up, onto water proof sandpaper secured with double side tape. After loading with a small normal force compressive force (0.02 and 0.06N), each sample was subjected oscillatory shear forces (B).

03. Supplemental Figure 2.

Oscillatory strain sweep. Whole skin and dermis-only biopsies were subjected to isothermal (37°C) percent strains ranging from 0.01 to 5% at 6.283rad/s in order to determine the optimal percent strain value for the oscillatory response experiments. The resultant storage modulus, G’ was measured for both soft-tissues and changes in those values noted.

04. Supplemental Figure 3.

Recoil after steady flow as a function of time. Whole skin (A) and dermis-only (B) biopsies were subjected to no shear-stress and the resulting strain and compliance data was measured in order to quantify the low magnitude shear stress recovery behavior for the two types of soft-tissue.

05

Acknowledgements

The project described was supported by Grant Number F31AR054202 from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIAMS or the NIH. This work was also funded in part by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs as part of the Center for Regenerative and Restorative Medicine in Providence, Rhode Island.

Footnotes

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Conflict of Interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Supplementary Materials

01
NIHMS69205-supplement-01.doc (93.5KB, doc)
02. Supplemental Figure 1.

Schematic of experimental set up for processing human skin and measuring viscoelastic behavior. Human skin was dissected with the aid of a microscope and uniform circular samples were created using a 6mm diameter biopsypunch (A). Circular skin samples were placed into the rheometer, epidermis side up, onto water proof sandpaper secured with double side tape. After loading with a small normal force compressive force (0.02 and 0.06N), each sample was subjected oscillatory shear forces (B).

NIHMS69205-supplement-02.jpg (281.3KB, jpg)
03. Supplemental Figure 2.

Oscillatory strain sweep. Whole skin and dermis-only biopsies were subjected to isothermal (37°C) percent strains ranging from 0.01 to 5% at 6.283rad/s in order to determine the optimal percent strain value for the oscillatory response experiments. The resultant storage modulus, G’ was measured for both soft-tissues and changes in those values noted.

NIHMS69205-supplement-03.tif (15.1KB, tif)
04. Supplemental Figure 3.

Recoil after steady flow as a function of time. Whole skin (A) and dermis-only (B) biopsies were subjected to no shear-stress and the resulting strain and compliance data was measured in order to quantify the low magnitude shear stress recovery behavior for the two types of soft-tissue.

NIHMS69205-supplement-04.jpg (285.7KB, jpg)
05
NIHMS69205-supplement-05.jpg (94.7KB, jpg)

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