Living Skin Equivalents (Leading Article‪)‬

Introduction The technology of creating tissue-cultured, three-dimensional models of human skin is relatively well established and is capable of providing predictive tools for a number of clinical and scientific purposes in dermatology. Over the years, a range of model systems have been developed, both as in-house tools in research laboratories, and as commercial consumable products. Whilst the obvious objective of development is to produce ever more complex model systems in an attempt to replicate the structure and function of human skin, simpler models with limited predictive capacity are also useful, being inherently more reproducible, reliable and cost effective. However, in all cases the primary objective is to produce a layered cellular structure with some inherent structural and functional barrier qualities similar to human skin. Living skin-equivalent models are currently able to provide the basic physical barrier function of natural skin, but have yet to fully deliver on the immunological and communication functions. In general, technological innovation in this area has been driven by clinical need (skin replacement for burns patients), research requirements (understanding biological mechanisms of the skin) and product material testing (cosmetics, personal products, toxicology).