Artificial skin
It was later discovered that treatment of deep skin wounds in adult animals and humans with this scaffold induces regeneration of the dermis.
[2] Alternatively, the term "artificial skin" sometimes is used to refer to skin-like tissue grown in a laboratory, although this technology is still quite a way away from being viable for use in the medical field.
[4] Severe damage to large areas of skin exposes the human organism to dehydration and infections that can result in death.
Several kinds of grafts made of synthetic and natural polymers were prepared and tested in a guinea pig animal model.
[14] Control of the structural features of the collagen scaffold (average pore size, degradation rate and surface chemistry) was eventually found to be a critical prerequisite for its unusual biological activity.
[10] Grafting skin wounds with Integra leads to the synthesis of normal vascularized and innervated dermis de novo, followed by re-epithelization and formation of epidermis.
Although early versions of the scaffold were not capable of regenerating hair follicles and sweat glands, later developments by S.T Boyce and coworkers led to solution of this problem.
Collagen-GAG (CG) matrices have a higher modulus of elasticity and energy needed to fracture than collagen alone, making it a more ideal material.
[31] Elastin has a similar effect to GAG as it reduces the tensile strength and compressive modulus of the material while increasing its toughness.
[31] Not only does the material have to be biocompatible and conducive to proliferation, it also has to have mechanical properties similar to that of real skin in order to serve as an adequate substitute.
[32] Furthermore, it has been noted that skin is viscoelastic and undergoes hysteresis- it has a time dependent stress relaxation factor and goes through a separate path during unloading.
If the CG matrix membrane does not wet the woundbed substrate properly, air pockets can form which will lead to infection.
Although the mechanical properties of the synthetic skin do not need to be exactly the same as human, the main ones that should be similar include modulus of elasticity, tear strength, and fracture energy.
Newer technologies, such as an autologous spray-on skin produced by Avita Medical,[33] are being tested in efforts to accelerate healing and minimize scarring.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology is working towards a fully automated process for producing artificial skin.
[34] Hanna Wendt, and a team of her colleagues in the Department of Plastic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery at Medical School Hannover Germany, have found a method for creating artificial skin using spider silk.
Human skin cells were added to the meshwork silk and were found to flourish under an environment providing nutrients, warmth and air.
Professor Maitz said, "In Australia, someone with a full-thickness burn to up to 80 per cent of their body surface area has every prospect of surviving the injury...
[3][37] The artificial skin is anticipated to augment robotics in conducting rudimentary jobs that would be considered delicate and require sensitive "touch".
[3][38] Scientists found that by applying a layer of rubber with two parallel electrodes that stored electrical charges inside of the artificial skin, tiny amounts of pressure could be detected.
[39] A recent development in the synthetic skin technique has been made by imparting the color changing properties to the thin layer of silicon with the help of artificial ridges which reflect a very specific wavelength of light.
