Potential applications of human artificial skin and electronic skin (e-skin): a review

Abstract

There is an ever-increasing need to develop artificial skin that can fully mimic the human skin that it replaces. Skin substitutes have been commercialized and are used in cosmetics and wound healing treatment, with mixed results obtained. Apart from artificial skin, electronic skin (e-skin) is also widely researched because it can be customized into wearable devices. E-skin is commonly characterized by its flexibility and ability to accommodate a wide range of sensors in ultrathin films. This paper reviews the current development and technology applied to artificial skin and e-skin. First, the basic layers of the normal human skin are introduced. Then, the current development of artificial skin in cosmetics and grafting applications are mentioned in one section. The latest technology in the fabrication of e-skin and some of its characteristics in different applications are also discussed. The ban on the use of animals for testing cosmetics and its positive effects on the development of alternatives to animal testing in experiments are also explained in this paper. Lastly, the current challenges in skin research and recommendations for future applications of artificial skin as well as e-skin are presented.