| Title | 3D Bioprinter Produces Realistic Human Skin | |
| Date | Friday January 27 2017, @10:44PM | |
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| from the smooth-as-a-baby's-bottom dept. | ||
A group of scientists from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), CIEMAT (Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research), Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, in collaboration with the firm BioDan Group, have created a prototype 3D printer capable of printing human skin. This skin is intended to be of a high enough quality as to be used for burn victims and other severe skin problems, as well as scientific testing and in industries such as cosmetics where animal testing has been on the decline.
The system is composed of three stations: the computer which controls the process, the 3D printer, and a bio-ink station. These bio-inks cartridges contain all the compounds necessary to the creation process including protein, cells, and other biological components. There are two types of skin they can currently produce: allogeneic skin which can be mass produced from a stock of cells, and autologous skin crafted from a culture of skin received from a specific medical patient. "We use only human cells and components to produce skin that is bioactive and can generate its own human collagen, thereby avoiding the use of the animal collagen that is found in other methods," they note. Structurally, the synthetic skin "replicates the natural structure of the skin, with a first external layer, the epidermis with its stratum corneum, which acts as protection against the external environment, together with another thicker, deeper layer, the dermis. This last layer consists of fibroblasts that produce collagen, the protein that gives elasticity and mechanical strength to the skin."[1]
Juan Francisco Cañizo, a member of the team, states that the cell cultivation takes a couple of weeks. After that, the actual skin creation process takes as little as 1 to 2 days. Alfredo Brisac, another member of the team, stated the team's further goals of coaxing the skin to produce and grow its own hair, as well as the cultivation of organs. They are currently still seeking approval from various European regulatory agencies. The 2-minute Youtube video sums up the machinery and process rather nicely (make sure closed captioning is on for the English translation).
Sources: [1] UC3M, Biofabrication on IoP Science, [DOI] 10.1088/1758-5090/9/1/015006, ScienceDaily, Digital Trends
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