Dermatology and beauty product research and development and testing has been limited to animal testing, which in some countries has been banned. Because of increasing controversial issues surrounding animal testing of these dermatology or beauty products, there has been increasing interest in developing in-vivo like in-vitro models for skin research.
Researchers at Arizona State University have developed a novel skin-on-a-chip (SOC) microfluidic device which is designed to emulate human skin's physiological responses for cosmetic, drug, ingredient, and chemical testing. This device features a multi-layered, in-vivo-like skin model that allows for high-throughput testing and reduces the reliance on traditional animal testing methods. The SOC is compatible with custom microplates and supports organoid and spheroid culture to further enhance its versatility and applicability in dermatology and beauty product development, as well as chemical testing.
This technology represents a groundbreaking in-vitro model for skin research, offering a humane and efficient alternative to animal testing.
Potential Applications
- Dermatology drug development
- Beauty and cosmetic product testing
- Industrial chemical testing
- Skin irritation testing for MSDS
- Result insult patch testing (RIPT)
- Biocompatibility testing
- Medical device testing – especially devices with a skin interface
- Skin sensitivity testing
Benefits and Advantages
- Eliminates the ethical concerns and restrictions associated with animal testing
- Provides a more accurate representation of human skin response
- Can simulate skin conditions such as acne, atopic dermatitis, cellulite, eczema melanoma and other cancers, shingles, lupus, infections, scars, dermatitis and more
- Allows diffusion of aqueous media and nutrients to the different layers
- Supports high-throughput testing for faster development cycles
- Compatible with a wide range of tests including histological analysis and RNA analysis
- Facilitates both ex-vivo and in-vitro testing methodologies
- Ex-vivo skin or skin organoid can be incorporated into the device for testing
For more information about the inventor(s) and their research, please see