Injection of glycerol into porcine skin for optical skin clearing with needle-free injection gun and determination of agent distribution using OCT and fluorescence microscopy

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the feasability of using a needle-free injection gun to inject highly viscous glycerol into porcine skin for the purpose of optical skin clearing. In this study a needle-free injection device DERMO-JET by Robbins Instruments was used to inject glycerol in 100%, 50% and 25% concentration into freshly excised porcine skin. The injection sites were imaged using optical coherence tomography (OCT) amplitude data to determine injection depth. Similar experiments were conducted involving the same device for injection of 100%, 50% and 25% glycerol-water mixtures with trace amounts of rhodamine. Injected tissue was rapidly frozen and sectioned with a keratome to reveal the mixture dispersion with a fluorescence microscope.