Researchers from Tel Aviv University and Sheba Medical Center have unveiled a groundbreaking development in burn treatment—a new type of bioengineered skin that could significantly speed up recovery for burn victims. The team claims that this innovative graft, made from the patient’s own cells, can heal wounds twice as fast as current treatments. It also offers superior strength, flexibility, and ease of use compared to traditional options.
The study, published in *Advanced Functional Materials*, arrives at a time when Israel’s medical teams are treating a large number of burn patients, many of whom are soldiers injured in recent conflicts. Dr. Ayelet Di Segni, director of Sheba’s tissue bank, emphasized the urgency of applying lab research to real-world patient care, especially with many young burn victims in need. “At such a time, bringing knowledge accumulated in the lab directly to the patient’s bedside becomes an urgent and tangible goal,” she said.
Current burn grafting techniques often harm healthy tissue or depend on fragile lab-grown skin, but the new approach uses FDA-approved nanofiber scaffolds populated with cells from the patient’s own biopsy. These cells then naturally organize to form a skin structure, mimicking the layers of natural skin without relying on animal-derived materials or shrinking after transplantation.
In animal studies, the new graft has shown impressive results, with wound closure occurring in just four days, compared to the usual eight days with conventional methods. Researchers also observed early hair follicle growth, indicating the graft’s potential to promote natural healing.
Dr. Marina Ben-Shoshan, a senior researcher at Sheba Medical Center, noted, “In model animals, we saw wound closure in just four days versus eight with standard methods.”
The research team, which includes scientists from Tel Aviv University’s Schools of Dental Medicine, Chemistry, and Engineering, as well as Sheba’s Burn Center, now plans to conduct further trials and pursue regulatory approvals to bring this bioengineered skin closer to clinical application.
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