Technology Overview

Traditionally, the safety and efficacy of beauty and cosmetic products were tested via animal studies. With the advent of technologies, increasing awareness on animal cruelties and with more countries banning testing of cosmetics on animals, there is an impetus for beauty and cosmetic companies to look for alternative testing methods.

Testing on artificial skin is one such alternate method. Most commercial artificial skin is cultured via the air-liquid interface culture method; however, this method is not able to produce artificial skin with specific characteristics of the different age group.

We have developed a technology that is able to produce artificial skin that models after the different age groups. Since our skin conditions change with age, having a “one size fits all” artificial skin will not produce the most accurate results during testing.

We are looking for companies to license our technology or to co-develop this technology for other applications.

Technology Features, Specifications and Advantages

Artificial skin is an all-layer cultured skin consisting of the dermis and epidermis. As people grow older, the Dermal Epidermal Junction (DEJ) where the dermis and epidermis meet, will flatten. Using the current artificial skin manufacturing method, the artificial skin produced has a flat DEJ which corresponds to the skin of an elderly i.e. those age 60 years old and above.

Our technology is capable of producing the skin type of different age groups (young, middle aged, elderly). This is done via a 4D hydrogel mold, and the strength of the Extracellular Matrix (ECM) can be controlled by a collagen gel strength controller. By adjusting and controlling the 4D hydrogel mold and the strength of ECM, various skin types for different age groups can be generated.

Additionally, a new measurement system can be developed based on our artificial skin to calculate the moisture level of cosmetics applied on the surface of artificial skin.

Potential Applications

• According to BCC Research in 2012, the estimated artificial skin market size would be worth 18.5 billion dollars in 2025.
• This artificial skin technology could be adopted in cosmetic industry as an alternative test method of animal test.
• It could also be used for other research such as wound healing, skin physiology and aging studies.

Customer Benefit

• Artificial skin of 3 different age groups; 20s-40s, 40s-60s, and over 60s can be produced.
• Be able to provide appropriate cosmetics to customers based on their skin types.
• More accurate testing results to optimize the dosage form and the content of functional cosmetics.
• Less reliant on animal testing for toxicological, skin sensitization and allergic assessment.