This document discusses artificial skin and its history. It defines artificial skin as materials used to replace skin temporarily or permanently that mimic skin layers. In the 1970s, Burke and Yannas synthesized a collagen-polysaccharide polymer and silastic membrane to create a porous material simulating skin. There are biological options like cadaveric skin allografts and synthetic options like Dermagraft and Integra that are stable, biodegradable materials for tissue regeneration but lack normal skin architecture. Artificial skin has applications in skin grafts and regeneration as well as prosthetics.

1. ARTIFICIAL SKIN
FOUNTA DIMITRA 994, KATRITZIDAKI THEODOSIA 1021
DEPARTMENT OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY| UNIVERSITY OF CRETE
DATE: 08/03/2017

2. WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL SKIN;
 The term artificial skin is used to describe every materials
that are used in order to replace (either temporarily or
permanent)and that it can be able to mimic the dermis
and epidermis layers of the skin.
Biobrane® : Temporary use Skin Graft : Permanent use

3. HISTORICAL BACKROUND
 1970 J.Burke και I.Yannas
 They synthesized a polymer from collagen fibers(fig.1) and
polysaccharides in order to create a porous material that
simulated the human skin , Silastic (fig.2)
 1979 first time on human
Figure 1 Figure 2

4. CATEGORIES – BIOLOGICAL
(+) Plenty amount, low cost
(+) more natural dermis layer
(-) Slow graft vasculature
 Cadaveric skin allograft
 Porcine skin allograft
(Xenograft)
 Amnion Amnion

5. CATEGORIES - SYNTHETIC
(+) Stable, biodegradable and suitable for tissue
regeneration
(+) Easy composition and control
of its properties
(+) Avoiding complications from
disease transfers
(-) no basement membrane
(-) Their architecture does not
look like normal skin
(-) Risk of graft rejection
 Dermagraft® (polyglactin mesh seeded with fibroblast)
 Integra® (bodine collagen , chondroitin-6-sulphate and silastic membrane)
 Biobrane® (nylon mesh, silastic membrane)

6. OTHER APPLICATIONS
 Overlap of prosthetic limbs
 Skin regeneration (cosmetology)
(MIT)

7. REFERENCES - LITERATURE
 http://www.woundcarecenters.org/article/wound-therapies/skin-substitutes
 https://www.slideshare.net/FelixObi/artificial-skin-and-artificial-cartilage
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3038402
 http://www.cnn.gr/money/tech/story/31798/texnito-derma-i-apantisi-toy-mit-stis-rytides
 http://www.farmaluk.com/prod/14/2/n/26/BIOBRANE
 http://www.slate.com/articles/video/video/2016/01/ioannis_yannas_looks_back_wistfully_on_t
he_surprising_discovery_of_artificial.html
 http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-artificial-skin.htm
 http://www.discoveriesinmedicine.com/Apg-Ban/Artificial-Skin.html
 https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2013/179784/
 http://www.ibtimes.com.au/polymer-stretches-senses-real-skin-1398122