Objective
Objectives and content
The skin is the largest organ of the human body and there
is an enormous market (56 billion ECU) in pharmaceuticals
and cosmetics targeted to it. A major goal of both the
cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries is to develop in
vitro models of the skin that accurately reflect the in
vivo state and that can be used for both basic research
and also to develop and screen novel actives and targeted
delivery systems. Current models do not fully reflect
the in-vivo situation and there is a clear need for new
models. The Partners propose the development of novel
scaffolds and matrices that will support the in-vitro
maintenance of histocultured human skin as well as
isolated human pilosebaceous units (PSUs) and hair
follicles. In addition their suitability as matrices for
developing synthetic organs/tissues capable of supporting
hair follicle and skin gland neogenesis will be
investigated.
Through concertation of their expertise the four
partners, QMWC, L'OREAL, FAB and HUB will bring the
following innovations to the field of tissue engineering:
The first rationally designed, smart dermal matrices
which will: - release growth factors - be biocompatible
with epidermal matrices - support proliferation and
differentiation of PSUs The first use of hyaluronic acidbased polymers and/or methacrylate/phthalate-based viscoelastic entanglement gels for the support of
proliferation, differentiation and cycling of hair
follicles or PSUs.
The first combination of wholly synthetic dermal and
epidermal matrices with appropriate cell populations to
create an hairy skin-equivalent The first use of
simultaneous beta-imaging and light microscopy for the
analysis of active delivery to the hair follicle or PSU
The proof-of-principle that actives can be directly
delivered to specific target cell populations in the PSU
Exploitation plans include development, marketing and
sales of products as diverse as new actives for removing
unwanted hair, graftable hairy skin, and a hairy-skin
equivalent to replace animals in cosmetic testing.
Fields of science
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
E1 2AT LONDON
United Kingdom