Objective Skin tape stripping is a minimally invasive, skin-specific method for biomarker collection that has gained increasing interest in dermatologic research. However, the lack of standardized protocols for protein and nucleic acid extraction from tape strips has limited its broader application. This study aimed to establish robust and broadly compatible protocols for biomarker extraction from tape strip samples to enable reliable downstream proteomic and transcriptomic analyses. Methods We systematically evaluated key technical parameters influencing biomarker recovery, including collection and storage conditions, buffer composition, and lysis strategies. Protein and nucleic acid extraction protocols were optimized for maximum yield and quality across a range of downstream applications, including immunoassays and transcriptomic profiling. Results The optimized protein extraction protocol demonstrated improved total yield and compatibility with multiple assay platforms. A parallel nucleic acid extraction method yielded high-quality RNA suitable for gene expression analyses. Notably, we found that disease-relevant biomarkers were detectable in the most superficial tape strips, indicating that fewer total strips may be sufficient for effective analysis. Conclusion We present practical and standardized methods for protein and nucleic acid extraction from skin tape strip samples. These protocols address current technical barriers and support broader implementation of tape stripping as a biomarker collection strategy in clinical dermatology and related fields.
Boarder et al. (2026) studied this question.