MadSci Network: Medicine
Query:

Re: Can you please tell me a substitute for skin for my experiment?

Date: Mon Mar 28 15:50:49 2005
Posted By: Mark Torchia, Faculty, Clinical Research, St. Boniface General Hospital
Area of science: Medicine
ID: 1099976458.Me
Message:

Zim:

I am not aware of any artificial model or cell model that are
representative to be used to test dermal cleansers.

There are tissue culture models for skin but these would unlikely be stable
when treated with the cleansers (and are difficult to maintain). I suppose
you could culture the bacterium Propionibacterium acnes (ATCC 6919) on a
plate and study whether a pad soaked with the cleanser had any impact on
growth. I have also seen cow udder used as a model for skin, but it could
not also have acne. Lastly there are animal models (rats, etc.) but again
these are difficult to maintain, expensive, and likely not something your
school could support.

So, I think you may be stuck. 

Perhaps you have some classmates that would agree to using one of the skin
cleaners according to the users instructions on one-half of their face and
nothing on the other half (controlled study). Then you could photograph the
results on a daily basis for a few weeks and compare what happens...






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