An elastic second skin
Author(s)
Yu, Betty; Kang, Soo-Young; Ramadurai, Nithin; Pilkenton, Morgan; Patel, Alpesh; Nashat, Amir; Sakamoto, Fernanda H.; Gilchrest, Barbara A.; Anderson, R. Rox; Anderson, Daniel Griffith; Langer, Robert S; Akthakul, Ariya, 1973-; ... Show more Show less
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We report the synthesis and application of an elastic, wearable crosslinked polymer layer (XPL) that mimics the properties of normal, youthful skin. XPL is made of a tunable polysiloxane-based material that can be engineered with specific elasticity, contractility, adhesion, tensile strength and occlusivity. XPL can be topically applied, rapidly curing at the skin interface without the need for heat- or light-mediated activation. In a pilot human study, we examined the performance of a prototype XPL that has a tensile modulus matching normal skin responses at low strain (<40%), and that withstands elongations exceeding 250%, elastically recoiling with minimal strain-energy loss on repeated deformation. The application of XPL to the herniated lower eyelid fat pads of 12 subjects resulted in an average 2-grade decrease in herniation appearance in a 5-point severity scale. The XPL platform may offer advanced solutions to compromised skin barrier function, pharmaceutical delivery and wound dressings.
Date issued
2016-05Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Medical Engineering & Science; Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering; Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MITJournal
Nature Materials
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Yu, Betty; Kang, Soo-Young; Akthakul, Ariya et al. “An Elastic Second Skin.” Nature Materials 15, 8 (May 2016): 911–918 © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited
Version: Author's final manuscript
ISSN
1476-1122
1476-4660