Dive Brief:
- A group of researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Living Proof, a hair product company, have developed a material that acts and feels like skin and may be used to deliver drugs and provide cosmetic treatments like skin tightening or wrinkle removal, according to a press release.
- The technology will be commercially developed by startup Olivo Laboratories, and will initially focus on treatments for skin conditions such as eczema.
- The startup will be headed by CEO Amir Nashat, managing partner at Polaris Partners, a healthcare and technology-focused venture capital firm.
Dive Insight:
Details about the material and its potential cosmetic and medical applications were published Monday in Nature Materials. Lead author of the article, Dr. Barbara Gilchrest, a dermatologist at MGH, explained how difficult it is to develop a skin-like material that conforms to the movement of skin and returns to its original shape.
The material can be stretched by more than 250% and return to its original state compared to actual skin, which can only be stretched by 180% before returning to its normal state. Experiments showed the material able to retain water better than petrolatum over 24 hours. It can be peeled off after use or removed with makeup remover.
Researchers said the technology also has the potential for a new type of sunscreen.
“Developing a second skin that is invisible, comfortable and effective in holding in water and potentially other materials presents many different challenges, which we are now able to address,” Olivo co-founder, MIT Institute Professor, and article co-author Dr. Robert Langer said in a statement.
“We are extremely excited about the opportunities that are presented as a result of this work and look forward to further developing these materials to better treat patients who suffer from a variety of skin conditions,” Langer added.