Author(s)

Carlton Farley III¹, Aschalew Kassu^2*, Sandra Sadate¹, Anup Sharma¹

¹Department of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL, USA.
²Department of Engineering, Construction Management & Industrial Technology, Alabama A & M University, Normal, AL, USA.

Transmission of light through model human epidermal samples is investigated at four different wavelengths and at varying ambient humidity. Light from light emitting diodes (LEDs) is used for transmission measurements through the samples at a UVA wavelength of 365 nm, and visible wavelengths of 460 nm, 500 nm, and 595 nm. Ambient air-humidity is varied between 20% and 100%. Results show that for high ambient humidity, near 100%, transmission of light through the epidermis is higher than at low ambient humidity, 60% or lower. These results are explained with a simple model of epidermis as a turbid medium and the effect of adsorbed water in reducing light-scattering by refractive-index-matching. Biological implications of increased light-transmission through epidermis at high ambient humidity are discussed.

Model Human Epidermis, Model Skin, Effect of Humidity, Transmission of Light, Optical Properties of Epidermis

Farley III, C. , Kassu, A. , Sadate, S. and Sharma, A. (2016) Effect of Ambient Humidity on the Transmission of UV/Visible Light through Model Human Epidermis. Open Journal of Applied Sciences, 6, 153-157. doi: 10.4236/ojapps.2016.63016.