Creation of ionically crosslinked tri-layered Chitosan membranes to simulate different human skin properties

Author

Lleal Fontàs, Blanca

Abstract

In 2023, the current European Cosmetics Regulation (1223/2009/EC) will be banning the use of animals in the cosmetics industry. This fact, together with the existing ethical considerations about the use of animals or humans in scientific research, prompted this study which purses to propose new alternatives to replace animal testing.
The aim of this study is to create a tri-layered chitosan membrane ionically crosslinked with sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) as a first attempt to simulate layers of human skin.
These membranes have advantages such as their biocompatibility and non-toxicity, thanks to the raw material used, chitosan.
Along the study, membrane creation was performed by a crosslinking reaction between chitosan and TPP, and two types of membranes were distinguished: base and activated. The last membranes are characterized by their porosity, with the creation of pores with the device called DermaStamp®. All membranes were characterized by static permeation tests with a Franz cell and rheological tests with an oscillatory procedure to verify the reproducibility of the membrane preparation method and to study their elasticity.
In addition, the crosslinking effect has been studied for each type of membrane based on the elasticity obtained in the rheometer.

 

Director

Balfagón Costa, Alberto

Degree

IQS SE - Undergraduate Program in Chemistry

Date

2021-02-15