Rheological and Lipid Characterization of Minipig and Human Skin Tissue: A Comparative Study Across Different Locations and Depths

Abstract

Understanding the rheology of minipig and human skin is crucial for enhancing drug delivery methods, particularly for injections. Despite many studies on skin's viscoelasticity, especially the subcutaneous layer, comparative analyses across different clinical sites are scarce, as is data on the impact of hydration or lipid levels. This study employs shear rheology and lipid analysis to evaluate viscoelasticity and lipid content across three anatomical locations-breast, belly, and neck and three different depth layers in Yucatan minipigs. It reports on how viscoelastic properties change with frequency, time, and strain, noting strain-stiffening and shear-thinning at high strain amplitudes. Human male and female abdominal tissues are also compared to minipig tissues, highlighting distinct viscoelastic traits and lipid's role in them. The findings suggest the existence of species, anatomical location, tissue depth, and sex-based rheological differences. We also concluded the minipig male tissue is a more accurate model for human male subcutaneous tissue than for females.