Dissertation
A Model Membrane Approach to Elucidate the Molecular Organization in the Skin Barrier
Promotor: J. A. Bouwstra
- Author
- A.K.M.E.H. Mojumdar
- Date
- 16 June 2015
- Links
- Thesis in Leiden Repository
Drug delivery across the skin is a challenging task because of the skin barrier. The skin barrier underlies in the outermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum (SC). The lipids play a crucial role in this barrier function. The focus of this PhD project was to elucidate the molecular structure of the lipid matrix present in the SC and to relate this structure with the barrier function. The lipid compositions selected for these studies were particularly chosen to understand the changes in barrier function in dry and diseased skin, i.e.,atopic eczema, Netherton syndrome compared to healthy skin. A variety of biophysical and analytical methods such as X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, infra-red spectroscopy, microscopy and LC/MS were combined to unravel the molecular structure. Diffusion studies and trans-epidermal water loss measurements were carried out to relate lipid organization with the lipid barrier. All the diffraction studies were performed in Grenoble, France at the ESRF (X-rays) and ILL (neutron). Neutron diffraction studies are in collaboration with King's College, University of London (Prof. J. Lawrence, Dr. D. Barlow).