A Novel and Non-Invasive Method of Dermal Sampling

描述（由申请方提供）：拟定研究的总体目标是开发一种“从皮肤收集污染物的新方法，以评估皮肤暴露于有害物质。“这种方法利用低频超声波与表面活性剂相结合，以受控的方式从皮肤的表层和深层提取污染物。以这种方式提取的污染物将使用 评估个人接触危险物质的分析方法。 由于其大尺寸，皮肤提供了暴露于污染物的最脆弱的器官之一。评估皮肤接触的主要问题之一是缺乏以受控方式收集样本的方法。因此，需要更好的有意义的样品收集方法。在拟议的研究中，我们计划应对这一挑战。 我们假设，低频超声沿着表面活性剂的短时间应用可以用于无痛和非侵入性地从皮肤的固定区域提取污染物。然后可以分析提取的样品以评估皮肤对污染物的暴露。拟议研究的具体目标如下：i）评估超声采集样本的成分，ii）评估超声样本采集的机制，iii）评估超声应用的安全性问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The general objective of the proposed studies is to develop a "novel method of collecting contaminants from the skin to assess cutaneous exposure to hazardous materials." This method utilizes low-frequency ultrasound in combination with surfactants to extract contaminants from the superficial as well as deeper layers of skin in a controlled manner. Contaminants extracted in this manner will be assessed using analytical methods to assess the exposure of the individual to hazardous substances. Due to its large size, skin offers one of the most vulnerable organs for exposure to contaminants. One of the major issues in assessing skin exposure is the lack of methods to collect samples in a controlled way. Accordingly, better methods of meaningful sample collection are desired. In the proposed studies, we plan to address this challenge. We hypothesize that a short application of low-frequency ultrasound along with surfactants can be used to extract contaminants from a fixed area of skin painlessly and non-invasively. The extracted sample can then be analyzed to assess dermal exposure to contaminants. The specific objectives of the proposed studies are as follows: i) Assess the Composition of Ultrasonically Collected Sample, ii) Assess Mechanisms of Ultrasonic Sample Collection, and iii) Assess Safety Issues of Ultrasound Application.