Elemental composition of hypertrophic scar and normal skin tissue using proton induced X-ray emission

Hypertrophic scars are a particular type of scar that can form after any type of dermal trauma. They are unsightly, red and elevated above normal skin level. At present no-one knows why these scars form and what form the treatment should take. Full thickness hypertrophic skin tissue as well as full thickness normal skin samples, obtained form the Restoration of Appearance and Function Trust (RAFT), Institute of Plastic Surgery, Mount Vernon Hospital, were analysed, using simultaneously both PIXE and RBS, with a 2 MeV proton beam. The epidemis was compared to the dermis on both normal and scarred tissue, and each was compared to the other, to see if there were any variations in elemental composition. In all the samples C, N and O detected by RBS and P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe detected by PIXE were found, In the majority of samples Zn and Cd were found, and in a few samples Sn was determined. Significant differences in concentrations, for the elements P, S, K and Cd, between the epidermis and dermis in both hypertrophic scarred and normal skin tissue were found. A difference was also detected between elemental concentrations in normal and scarred skin for the elements Ca, P, S, Fe and Cd.