Artificial skin composites

Abstract

<p>Skin injuries are a health problem and can lead to serious, significant deterioration in the quality of life and, consequently, even illness and disability. Therefore, after wounding, immediate regeneration of the tissue is necessary to avoid further complications and pathogenesis. Consequently, many wound healing strategies have been developed, leading to the progress in constructing of multifunctional tissue substitutes for the skin, biomembranes, scaffolds and intelligent dressings. The field of science focusing on the creation of the above-mentioned products is tissue engineering (TE). Its main goal is to find a system that is able to replace or be a model that perfectly mimics the form and function of the skin. Research carried out on such constructs is mainly based on the analysis of mechanical properties (porosity, elasticity), as well as the assessment of the impact of individual components on processes related to the formation of new tissue as cell proliferation and differentiation, proliferation, angiogenesis - through <em>in vivo</em> studies (using animal models: mice, New Zealand rabbits) and <em>in vitro</em> (most often using mouse fibroblasts - L929). Skin constructions may have potential applications as wound dressings or skin substitutes in cases of severe skin damage.</p>