4 April 2025

Researchers from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria and Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) in India are using a 3D bioprinting technique to create a synthetic version of human skin that “could significantly reduce, or even eliminate, the need for animal testing trials in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries,” per an official announcement.

Details of the project were published in the journal STAR Protocols. 

The process layers 3D-printed hydrogel with living human cells to recreate the structure and biological behavior (hydration and flexibility) of human skin. Its properties deliver “optimal conditions for cell growth and multiplication, due to its moisture-rich environment,” per the researchers.

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