If you think you have seen all (of course through our blog and our Twitter!) today we have to say no!. Scientists at MIT, Massachusetts General Hospital, Living Proof, and Olivo Labs have developed a second skin that protects and tights skin and smooth wrinkles.
In ATRIA we know from long ago siloxanes: they are functional groups with Silicon and Oxygen bonds that form part of many coatings with which we work and also in Silicones you can find at home. MIT’s scientist bring us a new application of these compounds and it is its use as ‘second skin’.
They have succeed in creating an invisible, breathable and comfortable coating to protect our skin. One application mentioned during the video it is to fill wrinkles. And some of the more ambitious ideas suggest that it could be also used to deliver drugs.
It is applied distributing in a first step a transparent cream containing the polysiloxane and in a second step using a white cream containing the platinum catalyst . Both products react together producing crosslinking molecules and forming the coating over the skin.
One of the biggest challenges was getting the natural elasticity of the skin and with this material, called XPL, they have succeeded. Natural skin has an elasticity of 180% and the XPL have reached 250%.
If you need more details you can read the paper published in Nature.
We hope it has bee interesting and we will keep you informed of developments of this incredible discovery.
Sources: MIT