Collection of stratum corneum via tape stripping is a minimally invasive procedure applied in a number of fields, including identification of epidermal biomarkers in skin cancers and inflammatory disorders. Tape stripping is an established technique; however, the number and types of tapes used in different studies vary widely. As an example, the most commonly used tape, D-squame skin sampling disc (CuDerm), is applied between 10-35 consecutive times to the sampling site. Repeated tape stripping is likely to result in increased local inflammation, potentially complicating comparison and interpretation of gene expression changes. To optimize data translatability, there is a need to define a robust operating protocol for epidermal tissue collection, including the definition of the least invasive sampling tape. In this study, we have compared the Smart Sticker (DermTech) to the D-squame skin sampling disc (CuDerm) by collecting non-overlapping adjacent volar forearm skin of twenty healthy volunteers. The performance was tested by measuring the epidermal tissue content on tapes, levels of induced erythema, and the quantity of extracted nucleic acids. We report significantly lower levels of erythema when stripping four consecutive times with the Smart Sticker compared to the four D-squame skin sampling discs. While having a smaller adhesive surface, four Smart Stickers lifted significantly higher amounts of tissue per tape, and yielded more nucleic acids per cm2, compared to four D-squame sampling discs. Our data highlights the applicability of the Smart Sticker for fast, highly efficient, and truly non-invasive epidermal tissue collection.

ESDR143 - Non-invasive skin sample collection: Comparing D-squame and the Smart Sticker.

50th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Dermatological Research. VIRTUAL MEETING