mar 31, 2015 by lynn yarris favoritesmeyersgroup.ucsd.edu/press_releases/2015/skin tough...just hit...
TRANSCRIPT
4/2/2015 Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-skin-tough-advanced-source-resistant.html 1/14
Home
ChemistryMaterials ScienceMarch 31, 2015
Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
Mar 31, 2015 by Lynn Yarris
Enlarge
(Left) Collagen fibrils in the dermis of the skin are normally curvy and highly disordered, but (right) in response to a tear align themselveswith the tension axis (arrow) to resist further damage. Credit: Berkeley Lab
When weighing the pluses and minuses of your skin add this to the plus column: Your skin - like that of all vertebrates - is remarkably resistant to
tearing. Now, a collaboration of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) andthe University of California (UC) San Diego has shown why.
0
Tweet
53
StumbleUpon
Submit
submit
Favorites
Email Print
447
Like
4/2/2015 Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-skin-tough-advanced-source-resistant.html 2/14
Making good use of the X-ray beams at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS), the collaboration made the first direct observations of themicro-scale mechanisms behind the ability of skin to resist tearing. They identified four specific mechanisms in collagen, the main structural protein in
skin tissue, that act synergistically to diminish the effects of stress.
"Collagen fibrils and fibers rotate, straighten, stretch and slide to carry load and reduce the stresses at the tip of any tear in the skin," says Robert
Ritchie of Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division, co-leader of this study along with UC San Diego's Marc Meyers. "The movement of thecollagen acts to effectively diminish stress concentrations associated with any hole, notch or tear."
Ritchie and Meyers are the corresponding authors of a paper in Nature Communications that describes this study. The paper is titled "On the tear
resistance of skin." The other authors are Wen Yang, Vincent Sherman, Bernd Gludovatz, Eric Schaible and Polite Stewart.
Who among us does not pay close attention to the condition of our skin? While our main concern might be appearance, skin serves a multitude of vital
purposes including protection from the environment, temperature regulation and thermal energy collection. The skin also serves as a host forembedded sensors.
4/2/2015 Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-skin-tough-advanced-source-resistant.html 3/14
EnlargeSequence of images showing how skin when torn does not propagate but progressively yawns open under tensile loading. Credit:Berkeley Lab
Skin consists of three layers - the epidermis, dermis and endodermis. Mechanical properties are largely determined in the dermis, which is the thickestlayer and is made up primarily of collagen and elastin proteins. Collagen provides for mechanical resistance to extension, while elastin allows for
deformation in response to low strains.
Studies of the skin's mechanical properties date back to 1831 when a physician investigated stabbing wounds that the victim claimed were self-inflicted. This eventually led to scientists characterizing skin as a nonlinear-elastic material with low strain-rate sensitivity. In recent years research has
focused on collagen deformation but with little attention paid to tearing even though skin has superior tear-resistance to other natural materials.
"Our study is the first to model and directly observe in real time the micro-scale behavior of the collagen fibrils associated with the skin's remarkable
tear resistance," Ritchie says.
Ritchie, Meyers and their colleagues performed mechanical and structural characterizations during in situ tension-loading in the dermis. They did this
through a combination of images obtained via ultrahigh-resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering(SAXS) at ALS beamline 7.3.3.
"The method of SAXS that can be done at ALS beamline 7.3.3 is ideal for identifying strains in the collagen fibrils and watching how they move,"
Ritchie says.
Metformin & HypertensionCholesterol research studies need volunteers. Payment up to $1000
4/2/2015 Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-skin-tough-advanced-source-resistant.html 4/14
Enlarge
These images compare the reactions of skin and bone to strain. Credit: Berkeley Lab
The research team began their work by establishing that a tear in the skin does not propagate or induce fracture, as does damage to bone or toothdentin, which are comprised of mineralized collagen fibrils. What they demonstrated instead is that the tearing or notching of skin triggers structural
changes in the collagen fibrils of the dermis layer to reduce the stress concentration. Initially, these collagen fibrils are curvy and highly disordered.However, in response to a tear they rearrange themselves towards the tensile-loading direction, with rotation, straightening, stretching, sliding anddelamination prior to fracturing.
"The rotation mechanisms recruit collagen fibrils into alignment with the tension axis at which they are maximally strong or can accommodate shapechange," says Meyers. "Straightening and stretching allow the uptake of strain without much stress increase, and sliding allows more energy dissipationduring inelastic deformation. This reorganization of the fibrils is responsible for blunting the stress at the tips of tears and notches."
This new study of the skin is part of an on-going collaboration between Ritchie and Meyers to examine how nature achieves specific propertiesthrough architecture and structure.
"Natural inspiration is a powerful motivation to develop new synthetic materials with unique properties," Ritchie says. "For example, the mechanisticunderstanding we've identified in skin could be applied to the improvement of artificial skin, or to the development of thin film polymers for applicationssuch as flexible electronics."
Explore further: Making a better wound dressing—with fish skin
More information: Nature Communications , www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150327/ncomms7649/full/ncomms7649.html
Journal reference: Nature Communications
Provided by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
4/2/2015 Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-skin-tough-advanced-source-resistant.html 5/14
54 shares
feedback to editors
FeaturedPopular
Most shared
Lightbulb using graphene is to go on sale this year
Mar 30, 2015 7
Quantum teleportation on a chip
Apr 01, 2015 8
CERN researchers confirm existence of the Force
Apr 01, 2015 24
How does fertility affect women's desire for variety in products?
4/2/2015 Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-skin-tough-advanced-source-resistant.html 6/14
Mar 31, 2015 0
How diverse is your social network? The answer may reveal something about your values
Mar 31, 2015 0
Phys.org
+ 99,299
Follow +1
Phys.org on facebook
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
Magnetic liquid
3 hours ago
I need help with an old VGA Smart-IQ Mass spectrometer
4 hours ago
Spectroscopy and term symbols
5 hours ago
How to reduce the flammability of crude oil?
6 hours ago
Solvent for bentonite clay
919,517 people like this.Like
4/2/2015 Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-skin-tough-advanced-source-resistant.html 7/14
10 hours ago
Catalytic converter catalysis
11 hours ago
More from Chemistry
Related Stories
Of fish scales and adaptable armor – the things that X-rays can tell you
Nov 08, 2013
The remarkably tough scales of a huge air-breathing fresh water fish in the Amazon Basin named "Arapaima gigas" were the subject ofa recent study led by Robert Ritchie of Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences ...
Making a better wound dressing—with fish skin
Feb 11, 2015
With a low price tag and mild flavor, tilapia has become a staple dinnertime fish for many Americans. Now it could have another use:helping to heal our wounds. In the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, scient ...
by TaboolaSponsored Links
Hank Haney University
3 Things That Golf Pros
Do That Amateurs Don't
Rant Lifestyle
20 Extremely Dumb
Celebrities
NextAdvisor
The Highest Paying Cash
Back Credit Card Has
Just Hit The Market Athletic Greens
87 Yr Old Trainer Shares
Secret To Losing Weight
4/2/2015 Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-skin-tough-advanced-source-resistant.html 8/14
Researchers develop hybrid scaffold, potential for future skin tissue engineering
Dec 06, 2012
Researchers in Japan have created a hybrid scaffold which promotes regeneration of skin in live animals while maintaining mechanicalstrength making it a promising material for future skin tissue engineering. ...
Imaging the noncentrosymmetric structural organization of tendons
Sep 04, 2014
Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscopy is a powerful technique for biomedical imaging, especially of connective tissues rich in collagen typeI/III, cartilage tissues rich in collagen type II, the myosin bands of muscle, ...
The brittleness of aging bones -- more than a loss of bone mass
Aug 29, 2011
It is a well-established fact that as we grow older, our bones become more brittle and prone to fracturing. It is also well established that
loss of mass is a major reason for older bones fracturing more readily ...
Collagen remodeling after micro-ablative fractional laser resurfacing can be monitored by two-photon microscopy
Nov 19, 2014
Many people in the Western World consider it as a social need to hide the effects of aging. For this purpose, different cutaneousrejuvenation treatments have been developed, including a laser-based technique, ...
Recommended for you
Researchers use silk to cultivate organ tissues in the lab
6 hours ago
Few organs in the body are as complicated as the human brain, a tight spiderweb of neurons that shoots electrical signals across synapses to control all
our thoughts and movements. When something goes wrong—as ...
Using DNA to assemble a protein lattice
7 hours ago
(Phys.org)—Living systems have ready-made catalysts, known as enzymes, for many types of reactions.
What if these enzymes could be snapped together like Lego pieces to make a lattice structure? An ideal
...
Findings on how electrons are solvated in water widen the range of potential influences on chemical reactions
9 hours ago
Chemistry can be quite confusing. In order for the desired substance to be produced in a reaction or for two substances
to interact - or not - chemists have to take into account a number of factors. Researchers ...
Scientists develop perfume which smells better the more you sweat
13 hours ago
The first-ever perfume delivery system to ensure the more a person sweats, the better they will smell, has been developed by scientists
at Queen's University Belfast.
User comments
Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more
password
Sign in
Click here to reset your password. Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.
4/2/2015 Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-skin-tough-advanced-source-resistant.html 9/14
Scientists create quick-charging hybrid supercapacitors
23 hours ago
The dramatic rise of smartphones, tablets, laptops and other personal and portable electronics has brought battery technology to theforefront of electronics research. Even as devices have improved by leaps ...
Powered by proton gradient, world-first helical molecule transports water across membranes
Apr 01, 2015
Getting water across lipid membranes is not easy. In nature, molecules called aquaporins, discovered in the 1990s, move water from
one side of a biological membrane to another, but the molecules are fragile ...
Welcome to the redesigned Phys.org. We hope you like it! Please feel free to contact us with any questions or feedback.
phys.org
Physics
All Physics
General Physics
Condensed Matter
Optics & Photonics
Superconductivity
Plasma Physics
Soft Matter
Quantum Physics
Nanotechnology
All Nanotechnology
Bio & Medicine
Nanophysics
Nanomaterials
Earth
All Earth
Earth Sciences
4/2/2015 Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-skin-tough-advanced-source-resistant.html 10/14
Environment
Astronomy & Space
All Astronomy & Space
Astronomy
Space Exploration
Chemistry
All Chemistry
Biochemistry
Polymers
Analytical Chemistry
Materials Science
Other
BiologyAll Biology
Plants & Animals
Evolution
Ecology
Cell & Microbiology
Biotechnology
4/2/2015 Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-skin-tough-advanced-source-resistant.html 11/14
Other
TechnologyAll Technology
Internet
Software
Consumer & Gadgets
Hardware
Business
Robotics
Engineering
Semiconductors
Other
Telecom
Energy & Green Tech
Computer Sciences
Hi Tech & Innovation
Security
4/2/2015 Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-skin-tough-advanced-source-resistant.html 12/14
Other SciencesAll Other Sciences
Mathematics
Archaeology & Fossils
Other
Social Sciences
Economics & Business
Enter your Science X account credentials
4/2/2015 Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-skin-tough-advanced-source-resistant.html 13/14
email password
Remember me
Forget password?Sign In
Sign in with your Facebook or Google+ account
Not a member? Register
Profile
Newsletter
Favorites
Activity
PM
My news
Sign out
search Submit
TopHome
Medical XpressSearch
HelpFAQ
About
ContactPhys.org Account
Sponsored AccountNewsletter
RSS feeds
4/2/2015 Skin tough: study at Advanced Light Source shows why skin is resistant to tearing
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-skin-tough-advanced-source-resistant.html 14/14
Feature Stories
Weblog & ReportsPodcasts
ArchiveiPhone iPad Apps
Blackberry App
Android App & WidgetAmazon Kindle
PDA version
Connect
Privacy PolicyTerms of Use
© Phys.org 2003 - 2015, Science X network