Raman Microscopy and Imaging: Applications to Skin Pharmacology and Wound Healing - Emerging Raman Applications and Techniques in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Fields - page 359

15
Raman Microscopy and Imaging: Applications
to Skin Pharmacology and Wound Healing
Carol R. Flach, Guojin Zhang, and Richard Mendelsohn
Abstract The utility of confocal Raman microscopy to study biological events in
skin is demonstrated with three examples. (i) monitoring the spatial and structural
differences between native and cultured skin, (ii) tracking the permeation and bio-
chemical transformation in skin of a Vitamin E derivative and (iii) tracking the
spatial distribution of three major skin proteins (keratin, collagen, and elastin) dur-
ing wound healing in an explant skin model.
15.1 Introduction
Vibrational microspectroscopy provides a unique means for molecular level
structure characterization of a variety of biological processes associated with
skin. For the past several years, this laboratory has utilized Raman and IR
spectroscopy, microscopy, and imaging to monitor the biophysics of the skin
barrier, mechanisms of drug permeation and metabolism in intact tissue, and,
more recently, the complex events that transpire during wound healing in an
ex vivo skin model [1-6].
This chapter is organized as follows: We initially provide a brief overview
of the basic elements of skin structure. Next, a validation of confocal Raman
measurements to monitor skin processes and structure is given. Finally, we
demonstrate the utility of the approach with three examples taken from our
own work: (i) monitoring the spatial and structural differences between native
and cultured skin; (ii) tracking the permeation and biochemical transforma-
tion in skin of a vitamin E derivative; and (iii) tracking the spatial distribu-
tion of three major skin proteins (keratin, collagen, and elastin) during wound
healing. Our approach tends to emphasize the molecular structure informa-
tion inherent in the spectra, obviously a unique advantage of the technology.
Although the primary focus of this chapter is to introduce the technology and
to highlight efforts from this laboratory, we of course recognize the efforts of
other groups around the world. We refer to and comment on pertinent aspects
of their work and apologize at the outset for any oversights.