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Mechanical Behavior Of The Skin

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Mechanical Behaviour of the Skin

Introduction
This part of the report concerns with the mechanical behaviour of the skin. Mechanical properties of the skin characterised in vivo and ex vivo studies are discussed.The advantages and limitations of each technique used by a number of researchers are reviewed. The mechanical properties of skin layers such as stratum corneum, dermis and adipose tissue are measured by many workers in addition to various experimental methods are also discussed.
The need for developing an in vivo substitute for skin in order to develop and test drug delivery devices in the pharmaceutical industry is growing (Shergold, et al., 2006). Mechanical characteristics of the skin such as Young’s modulus, tensile strength and compressive strength will be determined to create a list of suitable materials for injection pad. The understanding of the mechanical behaviour of these layers is vital for drug delivery devices such as auto-injectors. The aim is to develop an injection pad for drug delivery device testing that resembles the skin in appearance and function.
The mechanical response of the pig skin is similar to that of human skin (Figure 1). Also to avoid the ethical and immunological issues associated with using human skin; it was decided to utilise pig skin. In addition, the dermis thickness in pigs is similar to human which ranges from 1 mm on the face to 4mm on the back (Reihsner, et al., 1995), (Tan, et al., 1982). As compare to the dermis

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