Investigation of optical properties of human skin in the UV

The optical properties of human skin in the UV-range are not exactly known. Furthermore, the precise wavelength dependency of important photobiological processes (such as induction of skin cancer) could not be settled yet, either. A better knowledge of the optical properties is necessary in order to achieve a better understanding of UV-induced effects on human skin. Optoacoustics is a new approach to investigate the wavelength dependent optical properties of human skin in the UV-range. This technique allows non-invasive measurements on human skin in vivo, that are indispensable to gain meaningful results concerning the processes induced by UV-radiation in the living tissue. First attempts at measuring UV-induced optoacoustic transients of human skin in vivo and tissue phantoms with a new detector are shown. For analysis, fitting of simulated data onto the experimental data is applied in order to improve the determination of optical properties. First measurements of wavelength dependent optical properties in the UVB-(280-315 nm) and UVA-II-range (290-330 nm) comparing stained artificial layers to human skin in vivo are presented.