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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 28: Posters: Biomaterials and Biopolymers

BP 28.3: Poster

Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 14:00–16:00, Poster A

Swelling behaviour of individual corneocytes — •Hannes Heinel, Diana Voigt, and Robert Magerle — Chemische Physik, Fakultät für Naturwissenschaften, TU Chemnitz, 09107 Chemnitz, Germany

Corneocytes are dead, cornified cells that compose the outmost layer of the skin, known as stratum corneum. They contain a network of keratin intermediate filaments encased by a protein envelope, and display an extreme and reversible swelling upon hydration. M. E. Evans et al. have shown, that the expansion is due to the particular three-dimensional packing of keratin intermediate filaments [1,2]. With atomic force microscopy (AFM) we study the changes of morphology and nanomechanical properties of individual corneocytes upon hydration in humid air. Isolated corneocytes from a human donor are deposited on different substrates and imaged with AFM. The relative humidity of air is changed in-situ. [1] M. E. Evans, R. Roth, PRL 112, 038102 (2014); [2] M. E. Evans, S. T. Hyde, J. R. Soc. Interface 8, 1274 (2011)