A new water absorbable mechanical Epidermal skin equivalent: The combination of hydrophobic PDMS and hydrophilic PVA hydrogel

Research on human skin interactions with healthcare and lifestyle products is a topic continuously attracting scientific studies over the past years. It is possible to evaluate skin mechanical properties based on human or animal experimentation, yet in addition to possible ethical issues, these samples are hard to obtain, expensive and give rise...

Reducing friction in low velocity sliding contacts involving skin equivalent silicone rubber

The effect of binding decamethyl-cyclopentasiloxane (silicone oil) to polymeric coating structures based on polyacrylic acid grafted with poly(ethylene glycol), Wacker 1100, Wacker 1650 or poly(dimethylsiloxane) is discussed and compared with the tribological test results for the water or dodecane lubricated situation. Friction was measured at...