Mechanical Models of Collagen Networks for Understanding Changes in the Failure Properties of Aging Skin

Skin undergoes mechanical alterations due to changes in the composition and structure of the collagenous dermis with aging. Previous studies have conflicting findings, with both increased and decreased stiffness reported for aging skin. The underlying structure-function relationships that drive age-related changes are complex and difficult to study individually. One potential contributor to these variations is the accumulation of nonenzymatic crosslinks within collagen fibers, which affect dermal collagen remodeling and mechanical properties. Specifically, these crosslinks make individual fibers stiffer in their plastic loading region and lead to increased fragmentation of the collagenous network. To better understand the influence of these changes, we investigated the impact of nonenzymatic crosslink changes on the dermal microstructure using discrete fiber networks representative of the dermal microstructure. Our findings suggest that stiffening the plastic region of collagen's mechanical response has minimal effects on network-level stiffness and failure stresses. Conversely, simulating fragmentation through a loss of connectivity substantially reduces network stiffness and failure stress, while increasing stretch ratios at failure.