Is animal testing unnecessary? - A cosmetics firm invents synthetic skin.
L'Oreal has teamed up with the University of Oregon to produce a synthetic skin that can sense touch. This innovative material was showcased at the Viva Technology event in Paris and can mimic conditions like eczema, acne, tanning, and healing of wounds.
Speaking about this ground-breaking discovery, Guive Balooch, a prominent researcher at the company, stated that this could represent a significant shift in the industry. He explained that the use of sensors would enable them to conduct experiments on replicated skin, in addition to receiving sensory responses when products come into contact with it. This would assist them not only in assessing effectiveness, but also in gauging how products feel.
This artificial skin is created using a technique called Melt Electro Writing (MEW). This process involves layering plastic scaffolds, fine 3D-printed threads containing cultured cells, and a membrane. The result is a surface that resembles human skin very closely.
Ievgenii Liashenko, a research engineer at the University of Oregon, said, "This is the first known instance of high-quality skin tissue being reproduced as a whole, using multiple types of cells separated by a membrane."
It took 21 to 35 days for the manufacturing of previous models, but the latest innovation takes only 18 days to develop. The applications for this synthetic skin are vast, such as researching wound healing, producing skin grafts for burn victims, and treating diabetic foot ulcers.
Now, you can not only test how a product functions but also gauge how it feels.
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