Empa researching artificial skin from hydrogels

(CONNECT) Researchers from the Laboratory for Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles and Laboratory for Biointerfaces at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) in St.Gallen are working together with clinical partners on a model of human skin. According to an Empa news article, this is not a computer model but a 3D replication of skin.

It involves simulating the extracellular matrix, which is a network of proteins and other biomolecules that make up skin tissue. The article explains that hydrogels are particularly suitable for this simulation, as they are special polymers whose chains are cross-linked in a way that allows them to absorb liquid. Researchers are using two different hydrogels to simulate the structures and function of skin. One can be processed through 3D printing and allows multiple materials and cell types to be combined into a single structure. However, a drawback of this material is that it swells considerably when it comes into contact with water or other fluids. As an alternative, group leader Kongchang Wei and his team have turned to natural hydrogels: “We have discovered that nature already has a much simpler, more elegant solution. Gelatin from cold-water fish can be cross-linked in just a few steps to turn it into a non-swelling hydrogel, which can be printed with skin cells.”

It is hoped the resultant model will help improve understanding of the complex organ that is skin. Since hydrogel from fish gelatin causes fewer immune reactions than comparable materials based on mammalian gelatin, it is currently being researched for wound healing. The researchers have applied for a patent for their fish gelatin-based hydrogel. “We hope that this will promote a better understanding of the development and treatment of skin diseases,” says Wei.

The project is part of the Swiss research initiative SKINTEGRITY.CH. ce/ww