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Humidity-Dependent Viscoelasticity of a Single Human Corneocyte at Nanoscale Contact Using AFM Force Spectroscopy for
Perawat Boonpuek1, Thanathip Boonmatoon1,2, Prasert Aengchuan1
1School of Manufacturing Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Suranaree University of Technology, 111 University Avenue, Suranaree Subdistrict, Muang, Nakhon Ratchasima 30000, Thailand.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|December 22, 2025
Summary
Humidity significantly affects fingertip skin
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics and Nanotribology
- Biomaterials Science
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Human fingertip skin is the primary interface with haptic touchscreens.
- Skin's viscoelastic properties are crucial for touch interaction but not fully characterized at the nanoscale.
- Corneocytes, key cells in the outer skin layer, have unexplored viscoelastic properties relevant to touch.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the linear viscoelastic properties of corneocytes.
- To investigate the effect of humidity on corneocyte viscoelasticity under simulated touch conditions.
Main Methods:
- Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) force mapping with a dwell-time technique.
- Simulated single-touch interaction with a constant load of 5 nN.
- Testing across five different humidity levels.
Main Results:
- Humidity significantly impacts corneocyte viscoelastic behavior.
- Increasing humidity reduces stress relaxation and characteristic relaxation times by approximately two times.
- Corneocytes show rapid stress relaxation within 3 seconds, especially at higher humidity.
Conclusions:
- Corneocyte viscoelasticity is highly sensitive to environmental humidity.
- Moisture levels can considerably moderate the mechanical robustness of skin-surface contact in haptic devices.
- Findings are crucial for designing advanced haptic feedback systems and understanding skin biomechanics.
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