Artificial Skin By Simranjit Rekhi Functions of Skin

Artificial Skin By: Simranjit Rekhi

Functions of Skin? �Skin is the largest organ in the human body �Helps preserve fluid balance �Controls body temperature �Helps prevent and fight diseases

What is it? �About Thirty years ago, burn surgeons determined that badly burned skin should be removed as quickly as possible, followed by immediate and permanent replacement of the lost skin. �Doctors are able to take a postage stamp-sized piece of skin from the patient and grow the skin under special tissue culture conditions. �From this small piece of skin, technicians can grow enough skin to cover nearly the entire body in just 3 weeks

Why is it Needed? �When skin is damaged or lost due to severe injury or burns, bacteria and other microorganisms have easy access to warm, nutrient-rich body fluids. �To treat a severe burn, surgeons first remove the burned skin and then quickly cover the underlying tissue, usually with a combination of laboratory-grown skin cells and artificial skin.

Types of Skin Replacements �Integra Dermal Regeneration Template® ◦ Semi -synthetic approach to skin regeneration ◦ Researchers develop a bi-layer membrane system called the Dermal Regeneration Template ◦ The first and only FDA approved tissue engineered product for burn and reconstructive surgery ◦ Dermal replacement layer is constructed of a porous, biodegradable matrix of cross-linked bovine tendon collagen and the glycos-aminoglycan chondroitin 6 -sulfate. �Allows a the wound to establish a new tissue base

Continued… ◦ Second layer acts as a temporary replacement (Epidermal ) – made from silicone polymer �Following completion of the dermal layer physicians replace the temporary epidermal with an epidermal auto-graft. �Skin Graft ◦ taking cells from a nonburned epidermal layer of skin, growing them into large sheets of cells in a laboratory

How does it work? The burn surgeon drapes a sheet of Integra ® over the wounded area for 2 to 4 weeks. Allows the victim’s cells to grow a new dermis on top of matrix of the Integra ®. Then the surgeon removes the top layer of the Integra® and applies a very thin sheet of the victim’s own epithelial cells. Over time, a normal epidermis (except for the absence of hair follicles) is reconstructed from these cells. Skin replacement. Using a bilayer membrane system, scientists at Integra Life. Sciences help repair skin lesions and burns.

Types of Skin Replacements �Epicel skin replacement technology ◦ Introduced by Genzyme Biosurgery in 1987. ◦ Physicians isolate individual cells from a postage-stamp-sized biopsy of skin. ◦ Grow the cells for about 2 to 3 weeks and allow them to form individual sheets of tissue. ◦ Then surgeons transplant these sheets of tissue to the burnt area where these sheets fuse over time with the burnt area.

Works Cited � http: //www. nigms. nih. gov/Publications/Factsheet_Artificial. Skin. h tm � http: //www. seattlepi. com/local/burn 231. shtml � http: //www. discoveriesinmedicine. com/images/mdis_0000_000 1_0_img 0032. jpg � http: //www. scielo. org. za/img/revistas/sajs/v 104 n 1112/a 30 fig 02. gif � http: //pubs. acs. org/subscribe/archive/mdd/v 07/i 09/html/904 feat ure_willis 1. html � http: //www. integrals. com/products/default. aspx? product=46#Product%20 Descripti on � http: //www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002363. htm � http: //www. webmd. com/skin-problems-andtreatments/guide/skin-biopsies � http: //www. burnsurvivor. com/skin_substitutes. html