A Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM) has been available to the bioengineering team since 1998 for their search for new active ingredients. The instrument, which was originally developed for dermatologic applications (e.g. diagnosis of skin cancer), was a complete new technology at that time: The one CLSM used at the Hamburg research center was the first of its kind in Europe, and the fifth in the world. Thanks to the CLSM, it has been possible to gain in-depth insights into the human skin and its structures at the research center, without having to take skin specimens from test subjects.
This kind of microscopy directs laser light to specified points within the upper skin to scan various layers of the epidermis and the dermis. Hence, the reflected light reveals raster images of 2D cross-sections of cells and tissue which can also be obtained in a 3D image. Every second up to 20 raster images can be recorded in this way, providing us precise data about type, size and number of cells and papillae in the skin. On the basis of these images, Beiersdorf’s researchers gained new insights into age-dependent structural changes of skin.
