Noninvasive quantitative analysis of ceramide in skin of healthy Chinese population.

Objective: The objective of this study was to make noninvasive quantitative analysis of ceramide (CER) in skin of healthy Chinese population by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Methods: Seven healthy subjects were selected and the stratified skin samples were available using cyanoacrylate adhesion method. High performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, use ceramide Subclass Standard C42H85NO3 Quantification of the 12 corresponding ceramide subclass in the epidermis on the 7 skin samples, which cannot get all the standard of ceramides subclass since the stratum corneum ceramide is complex and diverse. Data were collected and analyzed using full-flow lipid analysis software (LipidSearch). Results: All the seven skin samples contained 12 subclasses of ceramide and the samples were quantitated with ceramide C42H85NO3 standard. The average contents were 33.63, 27.59, 108.57, 220.75, 149.20, 43.06, and 22.78 mu g/mL, respectively. Conclusion: Ceramide is an important lipid in the epidermis and is closely related to the skin barrier function. There are 12 subtypes of ceramide detected in the skin of Chinese healthy people, and there is a difference in the concentration between individuals. The difference may be associated with the skin barrier condition, and may also be related to the unavoidable error in the process of sampling, treatment, and detection.