Development of Epidermal Equivalent from Electrospun Synthetic Polymers for In Vitro Irritation/Corrosion Testing

Abstract

The development of products for topical applications requires analyses of their skin effects before they are destined for the market. At present, the ban on animal use in several tests makes the search for in vitro models (such as artificial skin) necessary to characterize the risks involved. In this work, tissue engineering concepts were used to manufacture collagen-free three-dimensional scaffolds for cell growth and proliferation. Two different human skin models—reconstructed human epidermis and full-thickness skin—were developed from electrospun scaffolds using synthetic polymers such as polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, and nylon 6/6. After the construction of these models, their histology was analyzed by H&E staining and immunohistochemistry. The results revealed a reconstructed epidermal tissue, duly stratified, obtained from the nylon scaffold. In this model, the presence of proteins involved in the epidermis stratification process (cytokeratin 14, cytokeratin 10, involucrin, and loricrin) was confirmed by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. The nylon reconstructed human epidermis model’s applicability was evaluated as a platform to perform irritation and corrosion tests. Our results demonstrated that this model is a promising platform to assess the potential of dermal irritation/corrosion of chemical products.