Rejuvenating And Regenerating The Skin With Biodegradable Polymers

By Dr. Aleksandra Ćwil-Kaczmarek and Caroline Lauret, Evonik Health Care

Healthy skin is often considered to represent overall well-being and health. Biomaterial technologies used for treating wounds, scars and to counteract skin aging have progressed rapidly in recent years. Moreover, consumers and patients are more interested in finding sustainable, less invasive solutions to heal their skin. As the main structural protein family in the body, collagen allows autonomous, self- restoration of the skin after injury or damage and can counteract the process of aging.

Collagen contributes between a quarter and one third of total protein mass in humans and other animals. It is totally biodegradable and has a high degree of biocompatibility, making it ideally suited for tissue repair. In therapeutic applications, collagen can be processed to a desired form and applied directly to the skin. Collagen can also be rebuilt by the body’s own cells and the body can be stimulated to produce its own collagen, for example, in the skin.

This article examines two aspects of sustainable skin self-healing: using non-animal-derived collagen for tissue regeneration, and the application of bioresorbable polymer powders to stimulate the body’s natural production of collagen.