3D-printed skin could replace animal testing for cosmetics

Good news! Will this finally become reality!

I have been waiting for something like this to happen for several decades!

"While we're making progress in phasing out animal testing in the cosmetics industry around the world, there's still a ways to go in terms of regulatory measures (some 35 US states still allow it), international cooperation, and scientific advancements in developing reliable alternatives. 3D-printed 'imitation skin' could be the ticket.

Researchers from Austria's Graz University of Technology and the Vellore Institute of Technology in India have developed a way to 3D print hydrogel formulations along with living skin cells, that eventually develop into tissue you can use to test new cosmetics. ..."

"... A team of researchers from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) and the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) in India is working on the development of skin imitations that mimic the native three-layer tissue structure and biomechanics of human skin. Such imitations can be produced using 3D printing and consist of hydrogel formulations that are printed together with living cells. The first skin models are now ready for nanoparticle testing. ...

TU Graz is working intensively on cross-linking methods for stabilisation. Ideally, following nature’s example, the cross-linking takes place under very mild conditions and without the use of cytotoxic chemicals. After successful stabilisation, the cooperation partners in India test the resistance and toxicity of the 3D prints in cell culture. Only when skin cells in the hydrogel survive in cell culture for two to three weeks and develop skin tissue can we speak of a skin imitation. This skin imitation can then be used for further cell tests on cosmetics. ... "

3D-printed skin could replace animal testing for cosmetics

Printed Skin to Replace Animal Testing (original news release) "A research team from TU Graz and the Vellore Institute of Technology in India is developing a 3D-printed skin imitation equipped with living cells in order to test nanoparticles from cosmetics without animal testing."

3D-printed structure made of optimised hydrogel.