Engineering an actuated model of living human skin

Currently, laboratory models of human skin are static and don't capture the stretching and bending that skin experiences in the real world. The aim of this project is to develop a laboratory model of human skin that incorporates the aspect of movement. This will be achieved by interfacing tissue engineered skin with soft robotic actuators, which function as artificial muscles. To take the first step towards this goal, this travel grant will fund three visits to Prof. Petra Boukamp's laboratory at the Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine in Düsseldorf (Germany). The main purpose of the visits is to transfer state-of-the-art techniques in human skin tissue engineering to the UK and to explore the compatibility of soft robotic actuator materials developed in Bristol with Prof. Boukamp's methods. Her methods are unique in that they enable the production of engineered full thickness skin (dermis and epidermis), which has many features that closely resemble "real" skin, and that is suitable for laboratory research over several months as opposed to just a few weeks. The result of setting up this collaboration with Prof. Boukamp will be a much more realistic model of human skin to study, for example, drug delivery and the safety of cosmetics. Furthermore, this research can also lead to advances in tissue engineering of skin grafts for the healthcare sector. Delivering mechanical stimulation to lab-grown skin could improve the quality of skin grafts used to treat burns and wounds, thereby reducing healthcare costs and patient distress due to transplant failure.

An actuated in vitro model of living skin will be of high value to the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The main benefits of a refined in vitro skin model, which incorporates both the structure and the movement of skin, lies in the reduction of research and development costs because this more realistic in vitro model can reduce (or replace) costly animal experiments. Engagement with the cosmetics company L'Oréal will be through regular email contact with Dr. Maité Rielland, Advanced Research Engineer at L'Oréal (France), who is responsible for the development of three-dimensional bio-printed skin models and who has expressed a strong interest in my research during a recent conference we both attended.
Regarding engagement with the pharmaceutical sector, a good relationship exists between the PI and Pertinax Pharma (UK), a company specialising in topical applications (creams, wound dressings, etc.) of sustained-efficacy antimicrobials. The Chief Scientific Officer at Pertinax Pharma is working towards regulatory approval for Pertinax products and is very interested in using refined in vitro models of skin to facilitate the approval process.

Furthermore, this project can make a significant impact in the healthcare sector. The development of a device that enables skin tissue engineering under mechanical actuation can produce superior skin grafts for resurfacing burns and wounds because the application of mechanical stimulation on developing skin grafts could result in constructs with structural and mechanical properties more closely resembling those of "real" skin, compared to grafts grown under static conditions (as is currently the case). Jonathon Pleat, plastic surgeon at North Bristol NHS Trust and Director of Research at "Restore" (a charity funding cutting edge research in burn and scar research) is a collaborator and provides a direct mechanism for translation of research outcomes for patient benefit.