Skin Barrier Function and Hydration
One of the most important functions of our integument is a barrier function. The barrier function of skin can control the trans-epidermal evaporation of such essential elements as water, ions and amino acids and protect our body from invasion of a variety of allergens or external stress factors.
Skin hydration is mostly linked to the skin barrier function and is important for maintaining a healthy skin barrier. The role of a moisturizing skin care product is to act on skin surface to physically limit water loss (occlusive effect) or to act at the cellular level.
Suitable skin care products, such as skin barrier-repairing ingredients or moisturizer and etc., can help protect our skin, and can help restore skin’s barrier from skin with a compromised barrier function.
Creative Bioarray provides in vitro 3D skin tissue models and evaluation assays performed for cosmetic efficacy and claims support of reinforcing skin barrier function and hydration.
Skin Structures
Your Needs
- Need to screen cosmetic formulations for skin moisturizing
- To screen optimal cosmetic formulations for reinforcement of skin barrier function
- To evaluate hydrating properties of active compounds or cosmetic products such as moisturizers including creams, gels and lotions.
Our Capability
In vitro 3D skin models available
Screening assays available
- Evaluating hydrating effects of active compounds
- Evaluating moisturizing effects of different formulations
Endpoints
- Measuring the electrical impedance of the tissue surface
- Epidermal differentiation: filaggrin, involucrin, transglutaminase, cytokeratins
- Lipid: sebaceous lipids, epidermal lipids such as ceramides, cerebrosides and phospholipids
- Epidermal extracellular matrix components: glycosaminoglycans and hyaluronic acid, proteoglycans and ECM receptors, proteases
- Markers of epidermal cohesion and intercellular cell junctions: occluding junctions and attachment proteins, such as claudin, occludin, desmogleins; dermoepidermal junction, such as integrin V, collagen IV, collagen VII; gap junctions such as connexins; and molecular channels such as aquaporins.
Techniques
- qPCR, qPCRarray, RT-PCR
- Epidermal separation
- Immunofluorescence
- ELISA
- RNA extraction
- Protein extraction
- Macroscopy
Assay Examples

Fig.1 Filaggrin expression in RHE

Fig.2 Relative humidity for different cosmetics products
Related Products and Services
Choose our models to perform screening assays in house, or choose our assays and services directly!
- Normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK)
- Reconstructed human epidermis (RHE)
- Ex vivoskin explants
- Compound screening service
Our customer service representatives are available 24hr a day! We thank you for choosing Creative Bioarray services!