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Updated: Aug 6, 2025

Cultivating a Three-dimensional Reconstructed Human Epidermis at a Large Scale
Published on: May 28, 2021
Permeable Cornified Envelope Layer Regulates the Solute Transport in Human Stratum Corneum
Afshin Zamani Zakaria1, Owen G Jepps1, Tim Gould1
1School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Queensland 4111, Australia; Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
Abstract:
To unravel the diffusion mechanisms of percutaneous drug delivery, suitable numerical analysis of stratum corneum structure is essential. In this research paper, we accounted for the permeable envelope layer in the brick-and-mortar finite element models of human stratum corneum. Both penetration and desorption experiments for tritiated water were simulated by transient finite element analysis. Rivet-shaped corneodesmosomes were included in the brick and mortar model. Results showed that cornified lipid permeability (Penv) is a determinant in desorption of the solute, while lipid transverse diffusion coefficient (Dlip-trans) is prominent during penetration. These two major unknowns (Penv and Dlip-trans) were obtained by extensive fitting of the finite element model to the experimental water data. Penv and Dlip-trans were determined to be 1×10-2 cm/s and 5.7×10-10 cm2/s, respectively.
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