The impact of various drying kinetics models on the prediction of sample temperature–time and moisture content–time profiles during moisture removal from stratum corneum

An attempt has been made here to model the moisture transport kinetics across porcine stratum corneum. Samples of porcine skin were dissected in the form of ‘thin layers’ (i.e. stratum corneum) of dimensions of 11.3 × 11.3 mm (70–200 μm thick). These layers were dried in a laboratory convection air dryer at 37 °C (normal human body temperature). The changes in weights of the samples were noted. The weight loss data was then converted in terms of moisture content (dry basis) and were monitored over time. Thereafter they were fitted against an empirical equation notably the Page model (Model 1) and the solution generated by the Fickian diffusion equation (Model 2). The current paper demonstrates the effectiveness of these two models in prediction of the sample temperature during drying. Furthermore, it also demonstrates the variation in spatial distribution of moisture content within the skin sample when moisture content and temperature dependency are introduced in the diffusivity. Such findings are important especially when developing skin multi-compartment physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models to assess transdermal permeation of various hydrophilic penetrants.