Researchers at the University of Oregon, in tandem with French skin care company L’Oréal, have come up with a way to create a super-realistic equivalent of human skin.
So far, they’re using it to test products to protect and heal human flesh.
Their breakthrough technique, detailed in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, uses a 3-D printer to create multilayered skin-like cell colonies in just 18 days, according to University of Oregon officials.
“This is the first known case of replicating quality skin tissue at full thickness, using different kinds of cells separated by a membrane,” said Ievgenii Liashenko, a research engineer in the university’s Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact.
To replicate complex, multilayered human skin, the researchers designed an artificial two-layer version, with a membrane separating the two.
L’Oréal is currently using the artificial skin to test cosmetics and skin care products. Researchers at UO and L’Oréal say they plan to explore other potential uses, including healing diabetic foot ulcers and creating skin grafts for burn patients.
-- Betsy Hammond, betsyhammond@oregonian.com