3D Printed Skin Grafts Offer Hope for Burn Recovery

Researchers at Linköping University unveiled 3D-printed skin grafts that contain living cells. Their work could one day enable burn victims and those suffering from severe skin injuries to regenerate their lost cells, achieving full recovery.  Here’s how this “skin in a syringe” has the potential to revolutionize burn treatments moving forward.

Why Skin Regeneration Matters

Skin is one of the most amazing organs on your body, but it’s also one of the least understood. Your skin accounts for approximately 15% of your total body weight and is responsible for a variety of crucial biological functions. These tasks include regulating your body’s temperature, protecting your other organs, and providing a safe surface to experience the sensation of touch.

Helping Burn Victims

Given the importance of skin to your bodily functions, it’s not surprising that researchers have spent a lot of time trying to figure out ways to help those who lose or damage this organ. Sadly, severe burns are one of the most common ways in which people suffer irreparable skin injuries. Burns can destroy multiple layers of skin, leaving the patient with no way to fully recover.

Skin Grafts

Notably, skin grafts are the most common way that medical professionals attempt to treat patients suffering from severe epidermal loss. The practice of grafting has been mentioned in texts as early as ancient Egypt. However, the practice as it’s known today can be traced to 1869 when Jacques-Louis Reverdin discovered the method that George David Pollock would later use to perform the first successful operation in 1872.

Skin grafts are the process of applying a thin layer of cells back over the burned area. The transplanted layer differs from the original in that it contains a single cell type that is responsible for the regrowth of the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin.

Limitations of Traditional Skin Grafts

The problem with skin grafts as they are performed today is that they only focus on the epidermis. This approach can lead to scar tissue forming and slower recovery times. The reason for the scar tissue is that the current method disregards damaged dermis tissue.

The dermis is a more complex layer of skin that resides directly below the epidermis. This layer consists of nerves, blood vessels, hair follicles, and other vital components of your skin. It’s this layer that gives your skin its elasticity and natural feel versus scar tissue.

Scientists have long attempted to recreate the dermis but have been unsuccessful in accomplishing the task in the lab. Sadly, the complexity of the dermis makes it virtually impossible to duplicate in lab settings. Recognizing these restrictions, engineers devised another, more effective approach.

3D Printed Skin Grafts Study

The Biphasic Granular Bioinks for Biofabrication of High Cell Density Constructs for Dermal Regeneration study¹, published in Advanced Healthcare Materials, describes a novel method to approach skin grafts.

This approach combines purpose-grown cells on gelatin beads with a hyaluronic acid gel to enable the patient to regrow their dermis naturally, eliminating scar tissue and improving recovery results.

Role of Fibroblasts in Skin Regeneration

The engineers began their work by examining which cells help the dermis grow. They noted that the most common cell, fibroblasts, could operate as the catalyst for regrowth. Fibroblasts are a connective tissue offering predictability and accessibility to researchers.

These cells are essential for dermal regeneration for several reasons. Specifically, they produce crucial ECM components, such as elastin and collagen. These components give your skin integrity and hold its structure together. Fibroblast cells offer engineers another major advantage. They can be developed into other types of specialized cells, opening the door for their usage in a variety of procedures moving forward.

Gelatin Bead Scaffolding

The scientist then needed to figure out what to grow the cells on. They determined that the use of porous gelatin beads would enable the cells to mature properly. The tiny size and flexibility of these gel beads enable them to fit into any shape or form required for treatments. However, they lacked the structure to remain in place once dispensed.

Source – Linköping University

Shear-Thinning Gel

To achieve this added structure, the engineers mixed the beads with a hyaluronic acid gel. The gel creates a chemical reaction, quickly forming a strong chemical bond. This specialized chemical synthesis is known as click chemistry.

Scientists found that it was ideal because it offers simple and efficient reactions with minimal byproducts or waste. They noted that their new gel creation solidifies when it gets exposed to light pressure, like that received when squeezed through a syringe.

3D-Printable Skin Structures

This approach opens the door for a variety of applications, ranging from doctors healing wounds with syringes of living skin, all the way to a 3D printer using a special nozzle to help those suffering from catastrophic damage to their dermis.

Testing 3D Printed Skin Grafts

The engineers utilized oscillatory rheology and 3D scanning electron micrography to test their theory. As part of the testing phase, lab mice had small  3D-printed pucks surgically placed under the skin. This approach enabled the engineers to monitor the dermis’ regrowth using multiple methods.

3D Printed Skin Grafts Test Results

The test result fell in line with the engineers’ hopes. The study notes that the ultra-high cell density biphasic granular bioinks for dermal regeneration integrated better than traditional skin grafts. Additionally, they found that the implant had developed new blood vessels, which is a vital step in regeneration.

Keenly, the implants were monitored for several weeks following the procedure. The engineers found that the fibroblasts remained active in the gel for weeks after printing. This data suggests that the replicated dermis will suffice for long-term tissue regrowth in burn victims.

3D Printed Skin Grafts Study Benefits

There are many benefits that this study brings to the industry. For one, it opens the door for a deeper understanding of the dermis and its regeneration capabilities. The successful 3D bioprinting of robust self-supporting structures and cell-laden constructs for transplantation represents a major milestone for the healthcare sector.

Customized Fabrication

Another benefit of this study is that it will enable specialists to take cell samples from patients and regrow vital parts of the dermis or other skin cells more accurately. These cells can then be delivered to patients using precise methods like 3D printing, reducing the overall cost of future treatments.

Applications and Timeline for 3D Printed Skin Grafts

There are many applications for this technology across the healthcare industry. The primary use will be to help those who suffer from traumatic skin injuries like fire or chemical burns. This study opens the door for full recovery, rather than the current methods that leave lifelong scarring and nerve damage.

Cosmetic Surgery

Another application for this technology will be in the cosmetic surgery sector. This technology could be adapted to help provide added collagen and elasticity to skin as it ages. Since it provides a natural way for the dermis to rebuild, it would offer better results than current methods that rely on slowing the results of aging.

Timeline for Clinical Use

You can expect to see 3D printed skin grafts become a common practice in the next 10-15 years. There’s still a lot of research to be done on the long-term effects of this procedure, including testing on human patients. All of these tasks will take years to complete. However, following clinical testing, burn victims could gain access to this game-changing procedure.

3D Printed Skin Grafts Researchers

The 3D printed skin grafts study was hosted by Linköping University and the Center for Disaster Medicine and Traumatology, located in Sweden. The paper lists Johan Junker, Daniel Aili, Rozalin Shamasha, Sneha Kollenchery Ramanathan, Kristin Oskarsdotter, Fatemeh Rasti Boroojeni, Aleksandra Zielińska, Sajjad Naeimipour, Philip Lifwergren, Nina Reustle, Lauren Roberts, Annika Starkenberg, Gunnar Kratz, Peter Apelgren, Karin Säljö, Jonathan Rakar, and Lars Kölby as contributing to the work.

Financial support for the study came from the Erling-Persson Foundation, the European Research Council, the Swedish Research Council, and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

Source – Linköping University

Future of 3D Printed Skin Grafts

The engineers still have a lot of work to do if they intend to get their skin in a syringe into the markets. According to their paper, the next steps will include testing the technology in a porcine wound model, which should provide valuable insight into the process on human skin.

Interestingly, this work correlates to the team’s other study, which revealed a novel method to form elastic hydrogel threads with 98 percent water content. These tiny tubes could act as artificial blood vessels, which engineers hope could work in tandem with their 3D printed skin to provide full recovery.

Investing in HealthTech

There are multiple firms that continue to work towards creating better skin grafts. These firms have poured lots of funding and effort into R&D with the goal of creating the most durable and lifelike skin grafts possible. Here’s one firm that aims to pioneer graft application and development well into the future.

Avita Medical Inc

Australia-based Avita Medical Inc. (RCEL -1.23%) entered the market in 1993 as Clinical Cell Culture (C3). The advanced skin graft researcher was the brainchild of burns specialist Dr. Fiona Wood and engineer Marie Stoner. Their goal was to create ‘spray-on skin’ technology that would expedite burn victim treatments.

In 2005, Avita Medical received approval to offer its RECELL System to the EU markets. This approval helped the company expand its market positioning. In 2018, the company gained FDA approval in the U.S., marking a major milestone.

Since then, Avita Medical has strengthened its market position in both the EU and the U.S. markets. In 2024, it released several new products, including PermeaDerm and Cohealyx, expanding into biosynthetics and collagen growth platforms.

Latest Avita Medical (RCEL) Stock News and Developments

3D Printed Skin Grafts | Conclusion

The 3D printed skin grafts study represents a breakthrough in burn victim therapy. This groundbreaking research opens the door for those who suffer from disfiguring burns to make a full recovery. This could also lead to other severely injured patients receiving a second chance at a normal life. For these reasons and many more, this team deserves a standing ovation.

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References:

^{1. R. Shamasha, S. K. Ramanathan, K. Oskarsdotter, F. R. Boroojeni, A. Zielińska, S. Naeimipour, P. Lifwergren, N. Reustle, L. Roberts, A. Starkenberg, G. Kratz, P. Apelgren, K. Säljö, J. Rakar, L. Kölby, D. Aili, J. Junker, Biphasic Granular Bioinks for Biofabrication of High Cell Density Constructs for Dermal Regeneration. Adv. Healthcare Mater. 2025, 2501430. https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202501430}