Advertisement

Singapore scientists make human skin for cosmetics-testing

Scientists in Singapore have created human skin in a petri dish.

They say the development is a game-changing step that will mean less use of animals for testing cosmetic products.

Made up of skin cells from donors and collagen, it has the same chemical and biological properties as human skin.

Denova Sciences lab manager John Koh is one of the experts involved in the project.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) DENOVA SCIENCES LAB MANAGER, JOHN KOH, SAYING:

"We can see that the industry is moving towards animal-free testing. So that's why we hope this in-vitro human skin model will be a solution towards not just personal care testing, personal care product testing, but also for nutriceuticals and pharmaceutical products."

The skin is made using a printing machine which creates patterned layers that mimic real human skin.

Each tiny piece takes less than a minute to make.

The cells then multiply during two weeks in an incubator.

The team is now focusing on developing skin that includes Asian pigmentation to test the whitening effects of cosmetics and skincare products.

They are partnering with commercial cosmetic testing companies and have filed a patent for their method of skin-printing.