3D skin models at Alcyomics

July 6, 2023

Skin models play a crucial role in pharmaceutical research, particularly in the field of dermatology and topical drug development. These models provide a way to study the effects of drugs, cosmetics, and other substances on the skin in a controlled environment without the need for human or animal subjects.

Here at Alcyomics we have 3 types of skin models which can be used for your toxicology and mechanistic testing.

3D Human Skin Equivalent (HSE): HSE is a three-dimensional model that closely mimics human skin structure and function. Our full-thickness skin models comprise both the epidermis and dermis and are developed by co-culturing keratinocytes and fibroblasts. These models allow for the investigation of drug absorption, toxicity, irritation, efficacy, metabolism, and the interaction between skin layers.

Alcyomics 3D skin models are designed to closely replicate the dermal/ epidermal junction. Models display close phenotypical histology to native human tissue and represent an excellent basis for a range of testing requirements.

Tissue Skin explant Models: Our skin explant models are developed by culturing human skin from volunteer tissue donations. All of our donated tissues are taken immediately before the experiment begins to ensure perfect tissue health and viability. Our tissue volunteers come from a wide range of demographics, allowing you to tailor your research. These models provide the most realistic representation of the skin's physiology and are used to study drug penetration, metabolism, toxicity, and inflammation.

Our human skin tissues are taken from a healthy donors which represent a wide range of demographics e.g. age, ethnicity, gender etc. Our human tissue assays include the entire range of human cells normally found within skin tissue and can even be cultured alongside autologous PBMCs for immunotoxicity assessment.

Reconstructed Human Epidermis (RHE): RHE models consist of only the epidermal layer of human skin, which is reconstructed in the laboratory using primary human keratinocytes. RHE models are frequently employed to assess the irritation potential of topical substances and evaluate their effect on skin barrier function.
These skin models provide valuable tools for preclinical testing, reducing the need for animal testing and enhancing the efficiency of drug discovery and development.