Research collaborators at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital have come up with a special material that can act as a “second skin” to impart a youthful nature to aging skin and may be used as a wound dressing or even act as a drug delivery vehicle. The cross-linked polymer layer (XPL) that makes up the artificial skin is composed of a tunable polysiloxane-based material, a silicone-based polymer, that can be adjusted to achieve a specific elasticity, adhesion strength, and even light penetration to match the look of a person’s own skin.
It’s applied in its liquid state using a dropper or some other device and it quickly cures after delivery without requiring special light or heat source.
The material has been tested in an initial study on twelve subjects with herniated lower eyelid fat pads and demonstrated an impressive two point decrease in herniation appearance on a five point scale.
Here’s a video report from MIT:
Article in Nature Materials: An elastic second skin…
Via: MIT…