TopiPen^®

The TopiPen^® probes are designed to investigate all aspects of sun protection  by Diffuse Reflectance Spectrometry (DRS) for quick and easy screening on the protective behaviour of your formulations and products undervarious requirements.

Each TopiPen^® probe contains one LED emitting light in a specific wavelength range, coupled to a sophisticated fibre optic system:

• TopiPen^® B 310 emitting non-invasive UVB light with its peak at 310 nm*
• TopiPen^® A 340 emitting high power, non-invasive UVA light with its peak at 340 nm*
• TopiPen^® BLUE - unique probe with HEV light (peak 440 nm

The emitted light is reflected by the skin, and the remitted light is detected by a photodiode via fibre bundlesin the probe.

The test site is measured without product application (reference measurement) and subsequently with a sunscreen or protection product applied. Based on these measurements, the transmission of the applied product layer can be determined. The resulting output is the protection factor: UVA-LED-PF, UVB-LED-PF, or BLUE-LED-PF.

 

The TopiPen^® system offers a variety of applications around sun screen testing.

TopiPen^® A 340 emitting high power, non-invasive UVA light with its peak at 340 nm

• Ideal for dark skin trials due to high sensitivity (all backscattered photons are directed to a single sensor) – currently under investigation.
• Suitable for screening diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) UVA protection factor (UVA-LED-PF).
• Potential application as a “1-LED-HDRS” method.
• Excellent in vivo complement to purely in vitro methods as described in ISO 24443 and ISO 23675.

TopiPen^® B 310 emitting non-invasive UVB light with its peak at 310 nm

• Initial trials show good correlation between UVB-LED-PF and SPF (R² = 0.59), including the ability to measure high SPF values (10 volunteers, 30 measurement areas), making it an ideal screening tool.
• Well-suited for relative before/after measurements, e.g., water, sand, or sweat resistance, protection after reapplication of the product.
• Assessment of intrinsic protection time (e.g., from food or dietary supplements).
• Potential application as a “1-LED-HDRS” method.
• Evaluation of the homogeneity of sunscreen application.

TopiPen^® BLUE - unique probe with HEV light (peak 440 nm)

• Supports “blue light protection” trend claim, which is included in many SPF and day-care products.

 






*The 1-LED-HDRS method of TopiPen® is not part of ISO 23698:2024-12

Advantages of LED-(H)DRS in general:

• non-invasive technology, UV-dose well below safety limits
• Low maintenance need & costs thanks to long-term stable LED illumination.
• fast in vivo measurement time → high efficiency & cost savings

Advantages of TopiPen^®:

• Ideal screening tool for all aspects around UV and Blue Light protection for all stages of product development. Especially suitable for comparative measurements such as water, sweat, or sand resistance, intrinsic skin protection (nutrition and food supplements), and consumer application behaviour (homogeneity of product application), dark skin trails and more.
• Possibility of 1-LED-HDRS together with in vitro data.
• Low initial investment. Compact, all-in-one system, ready to use immediately.
• User-friendly, practical device featuring 40 years of C+K experience and quality.
• Check accuracy and safety of the measurement anytime quickly.
• Flexibility and compactness – ideal for field studies.
• Ideal combination for all who use in vitro only (e.g., “Double Plate Method”) in order to get additional in vivo information from skin.
• Sophisticated, fool-proof SPF-HDRS FlowPro software guides the operator through the complete measurement process, supports standard procedure.
• Sensor for ITA° measurements (Skin-Colorimeter Flex CL 440) directly supported by the system.
• Clever accessories (e.g., hand switch to trigger the measurements while fully concentrating on the measurement site, ambient condition measurement and special measurement stencils).

… and more.

Key Benefits:

• Supports the workflow and key features of the ISO 23698:2024-12 measurement procedure.*
• Go beyond the standard – investigate additional topics such as water resistance, darker skin tones, different body sites, and more.
• Numerous convenient software features streamline your daily workflow.
• Optimized workflow for water resistance studies and other repeated-measurement protocols.
• Quick on-the-fly measurements before and after product application for rapid assessments.
• Provides an accurate visual representation of the marked test sites for easy orientation throughout the study.
• Determine ITA° directly within the software using the Skin-Colorimeter Flex CL 440, or manually enter values from other colour measurement devices. Automatically groups similarly coloured test sites for faster and more efficient reference measurements on untreated skin.
• Automatically records and stores ambient conditions (temperature and relative humidity) with every measurement.
• Fast product-to-test-site assignment with intuitive Click & Match functionality. An integrated timer ensures standardized product penetration times.
• Instant calculation of DRS (including panel & test site homogeneity) and 1-LED HDRS* (including UVA-PF, SPF & Critical Wavelength).
• Comprehensive Product Dashboard with a clear overview of all panel and test site data for every product.
• Integrated In Vitro Dose Calculator with guided import of in vitro data and automatic plausibility checks for a reliable and convenient 1-LED HDRS workflow.
• Unique Measurement Visualizer – inspect every single measurement in detail, identify and exclude outliers interactively, and immediately see how this affects the final results.
• Export all results, statistics, and charts directly to well-structured Microsoft Excel^® spreadsheets.

*The 1-LED-HDRS method of TopiPen® is not part of ISO 23698:2024-12

TopiPen^® Probes:

Dimensions: Length. 165 mm, Ø max 40 mm, measurement surface: Ø 8 mm, core measurement area: Ø 6 mm, weight: 165 g, cable length: 130 cm

Illumination:

• TopiPen^® A 340: UVA LED with its peak at 340 nm*
• TopiPen^® B 310: UVB LED with its peak at 310 nm*
• TopiPen^® BLUE: BLUE LED with its peak at 440 nm

*Wavelengths for UVA and B have been selected to position it as best as possible for HDRS estimation of UVB and UVA filter behaviour.

Connection Device TopiPen^® PA 3C:

Dimensions: 267 mm (L) x 85-153 mm (W) x 105 mm (H), Weight: 2.1 kg

Power supply: Input: 100-240 V, 47-63 Hz, Output: DC 12V/4A; Ports: USB 3.0, type B connector

Hand switch: Dimensions: 80 mm x 20 mm diameter, full-speed USB 2.0 (USB 3.0 compatible) - or similar, same type of product (subject to availability)

Optional foot switch: Dimensions: 12.2 x 12 x 3.8 cm, 160 g, full-speed USB 2.0 (USB 3.0 compatible) - or similar, same type of product (subject to availability)

Skin-Colorimeter Flex CL 440

Build-in Ambient Condition Sensor RHT 400: Measurement uncertainty: RH ± 2 % (+0.25/a*), T ± 0.25 K (+0.03/a*), air pressure: ± 0.5 hPa (+0.16/a**)

** = maximum annual drift (according to the manufacturer of the used sensors)

Technical changes may be made without prior notice.