Update of technologies for examining the stratum corneum at the molecular level

Understanding the molecular organization of the stratum corneum is still an outstanding problem, despite being both fundamentally and clinically significant. There is a need to develop methodology that yields molecular-level resolution of the stratum corneum components in their native state, without introducing artefacts. We outline here the recent success of cryo-electron microscopy of vitreous sections (CEMOVIS) combined with electron microscopy simulation to elucidate the molecular organization of the stratum corneum in its near-native state. Furthermore, some emerging technologies for studying the physical properties and dynamic behaviour of native stratum corneum at the molecular level are briefly reviewed. These encompass multiphoton microscopy (MPM), polarization transfer solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (PTssNMR) and PeakForce tapping-mode atomic force microscopy combined with frequency-modulation Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). CEMOVIS combined with electron microscopy simulation allows for molecular structure determination in situ in native stratum corneum, while MPM allows probing of the stratum corneum local physicochemical properties such as fluorophore diffusion coefficients, water content and pH. PTssNMR allows for evaluation of the molecular mobility of stratum corneum keratin and lipid components, and PeakForce KPFM allows for analysis of the local nanomechanical properties of stratum corneum. These emerging techno-logies may contribute to a molecular-level understanding of stratum corneum structure and function in vivo.