Viscoelastic response of human skin to low magnitude physiologically relevant shear
Open accessAbstract
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 degrees C) frequency response experiments between 0.628 and 75.39 rad/s at 0.5% and 0.04% strain on whole skin and dermis-only, respectively. Step-stress experiments of 5 and 10 Pa shear loads were also conducted as were strain sweep tests (6.28 rad/s). Measurements were made of whole human skin and skin from which the epidermis was removed (dermis-only). At low frequencies (0.628-10 rad/s), the moduli are only slightly frequency dependent, with approximate power-law scaling of the moduli, G' approximately G'' approximately omega(beta), yielding beta=0.05 for whole skin and beta=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 suggest that the epidermis provides an 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.
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Mismatches in elastic modulus between a percutaneous implant and surrounding skin result in shear forces that induce a more severe foreign body response.
“mismatches in the elastic modulus between an implant and the skin that surrounds it will result in sheer forces that induce a more severe FBR.164”
From Biocompatible Materials for Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices (2013) · cites this paper as [164]
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- Authors
- Holt, B., Tripathi, A., & Morgan, J.
- Affiliations
- Brown University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Morgan, Jeffrey
- Venue
- Journal of Biomechanics
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2008-08
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 2689-2695
- ISSN
- 0021-9290 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2584606
- OpenAlex
- W2049605176
- Cited by
- 161
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 3.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Biomechanics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (F31AR054202)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Elasticity and Material Modeling
- Physical Sciences › Chemical Engineering › Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes › Rheology and Fluid Dynamics Studies
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Cellular Mechanics and Interactions
- Keywords
- human skin, viscoelasticity, shear loading, percutaneous implants, dermis, epidermis, frequency response, strain hardening, stress softening, power-law scaling, infection
- MeSH terms
- Computer Simulation, Humans, Models, Biological, Physical Stimulation, Skin Physiological Phenomena, Stress, Mechanical, Viscosity, Shear Strength, Elastic Modulus
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