The ability of wound dressings to hydrate the stratum corneum has been tested experimentally using attenuated total reflectance (ATR) infrared spectroscopy. A silicone gel dressing was able to hydrate the stratum corneum to the extent that its water content within the sampled volume was >60% after 5 h of contact compared with about 15% of normal exposed skin and about 30% for a highly permeable hydrophilic polyurethane dressing. An ATR method was devised to determine the presence and depth of penetration of silicone in the stratum corneum as a result of skin coverage by the polymeric dressing.

No abstract