Measuring the skin microbiome after a 3% aqueous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) dysbiosis using ATP biofluorescence

Abstract

Background: Since its complete mapping in 2008, the human skin microbiome has become an important area of research related to skin health. The human skin is populated by an environment of microorganisms, fungi, insects, and viruses that is collectively known as the microbiome. Measuring the skin’s microbial diversity can be done but is a sophisticated technique that is performed using expensive instruments that can detect the 16S ribosomal RNA of the microorganisms. Finding more rapid and less costly methods to analyze the changes in the skin’s microbial biome is desirable.Results: A study was conducted on thirty (30) inner volar forearms to determine whether Adenosine Triphospate (ATP) biofluorescence could be employed to examine skin microbial dysbiosis caused by the application of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Fifteen individuals were examined on both arms, both arms having a test site and a control site, for a total of thirty inner volar forearms using a Charm Science NovaLum ATP analyzer [Andover, MA] to examine in a broad sense the skin’s total microbial population and how it is affected after surface treatment with 3% hydrogen peroxide over a 24-hour period. It was found that surface treatment of the skin with three cotton swab applications of 3% hydrogen peroxide five minutes apart was able to statistically significantly suppress the expression of ATP fluorescence compared against non-swabbed sites, and the effects remained significant for six hours following the H2O2 treatment. After 8 hours and 24 hours, the ATP biofluorescence difference returned to nonstatistical significance, indicating the potential return of the stable microbiome.Conclusion: Using ATP biofluorescence to detect possible sanitizer-induced microbial dysbiosis may be a rapid way to examine how skin treatments may impact the return of microbially disrupted skin to its normal state and how surface treatments may impact the rate of return to normal after a disruptive event.

Examining Skin Recovery After a 3% Aqueous Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) Treatment Using ATP Biofluorescence

“…Since the groundbreaking studies by Elizabeth Grice at the University of Pennsylvania to map the total human skin microbiota, interest in the relationship between the microbiome and the skin’s health have exploded. 1–3 Grice’s studies demonstrated clearly that different areas of the body carry different populations of microorganisms depending on several factors such as body moisture, oil content and exposure to ultraviolet radiation, among others. Interest in the role of the skin’s microbiome and microbiota and how they relate to the skin’s health are important and continue to expand.…”