by Scientists have developed 3D printed imitation of human skin with living cells, a progress that they say that it could enable cosmetic tests without the use of animals.
Researchers, including the Vellore Institute of Technology in India, say that the skin imitates the natural three -layer tissue structure of human skin and is ready for testing cosmetic nanoparticles.
Her study published in the Journal Star Protocols is carried out under restrictions that were imposed in the European Union for the animal testing of cosmetics and their ingredients.
Scientists worldwide are looking for alternatives to test the absorption and toxicity of cosmetics such as sunscreens and serums.
The latest research provides a protocol for the production of scaffolding similar to human skin using the 3D printing. “The process is simple, inexpensive, environmentally friendly and enables adjustment by adapting the treatment parameters,” wrote scientists in the study.
The starting point for these skin timbs is hydrogel formulation that is printed together with living cells, say researchers.
With their flood content, these gels create an ideal disease for the growth of cells. “The hydrogels for our skin timitation from the 3D printer have to meet a number of requirements,” said Karin Stana Kleinschek, one of the authors of the new study from TU Graz in Austria.
“The hydrogels must be able to interact with living skin cells. These cells not only have to survive, they also have to grow and multiply.”
The cells growing on the hydrogel must be stabilized even without the use of toxic chemicals.
“Only when skin cells in the hydrogel survive for two to three weeks in cell culture and skin tissue can we speak of skin,” explain the researchers.
“This skin timitation can then be used for further cell tests on cosmetics.”
Scientists claim that their first tests with the 3D printed skin cells are “very successful”. “This is a success for complementary research at TU Graz and Vit. Our many years of specialist knowledge in the field of material research for fabric and expertise from VIT in Molecular and cell biology have complemented perfectly,” they write.
“We are now working together to further optimize the Hydrogel formulations and to validate their usefulness as a substitute for animal experiments,” said Dr. Kleinschek.
Researchers also say that the new protocol also offers a method for developing sustainable biomaterials for medication for tissue regeneration.
