“Second Skin” for Wrinkle Reduction, Drug Delivery

Researchers produce an artificial layer of “skin” that reduces the appearance of wrinkles and could improve pharmaceutical delivery for topically applied treatments.

Written byCatherine Offord

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MIT / MELANIE GONICK

As skin ages, it gradually loses its collagen (an extracellular matrix protein providing strength and structure), causing skin to sag and become wrinkle prone. A team led by researchers at MIT and Harvard University has now developed a topically applied, polymer-based material that—according to their study published earlier this week (May 9) in Nature Materials—could cover up wrinkles and blemishes by mimicking “the properties of normal, youthful skin,” the authors wrote.

“Developing a second skin that is invisible, comfortable, and effective in holding in water and potentially other materials presents many different challenges,” study coauthor Robert Langer, a leader in regenerative medicine and drug delivery at MIT, told reporters (via BBC News). “We are extremely excited about the opportunities that are presented as a result ...

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Meet the Author

Catherine Offord
After undergraduate research with spiders at the University of Oxford and graduate research with ants at Princeton University, Catherine left arthropods and academia to become a science journalist. She has worked in various guises at The Scientist since 2016. As Senior Editor, she wrote articles for the online and print publications, and edited the magazine’s Notebook, Careers, and Bio Business sections. She reports on subjects ranging from cellular and molecular biology to research misconduct and science policy. Find more of her work at her website.
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