Background: Skin is a multilayer interface between the body and the environment,

While numerous physical skin models have been reported, most developments are research field-specific and based on trial-and-error methods. As the complexity of advanced measurement techniques increases, new interdisciplinary approaches are needed in future to achieve refined models which realistically simulate multiple properties of human skin.

The skin properties, structure, and performance can be influenced by many internal and external factors, such as age, gender, lifestyle, skin diseases, and a hydration level that can vary in relation to the environment. The aim of this work was to demonstrate the multifaceted influence of water on human skin through a combination of in vivo confocal Raman spectroscopy and images of volar–forearm skin captured with the laser scanning confocal microscopy. By means of this pilot study, the authors have both qualitatively and quantitatively studied the influence of changing the depth-dependent hydration level of the stratum corneum (SC) on the real contact area, surface roughness, and the dimensions of the primary lines and presented a new method for characterizing the contact area for different states of the skin. The hydration level of the skin and the thickness of the SC increased significantly due to uptake of moisture derived from liquid water or, to a much lesser extent, from humidity present in the environment. Hydrated skin was smoother and exhibited higher real contact area values. The highest rates of water uptake were observed for the upper few micrometers of skin and for short exposure times.

Engineering a small diameter vascular graft with mechanical and biological properties comparable to living tissues remains challenging. Often, current devices lead to thrombosis and unsatisfactory long-term patency as a result of poor blood compatibility and a mismatch between the mechanical properties of the living tissue and the implanted biomaterial. Addressing all these requirements is essential to produce scaffolds able to survive throughout the life of the patient. For this purpose, we fabricated a novel three-layered vascular graft by combining electrospinning and braiding. Mirroring the structure of human blood vessels, the proposed device is composed of three layers: the intima, the media, and the adventitia. The intima and media layers were obtained by sequentially electrospinning silk fibroin (SF) and poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone), with ratios selected to match the mechanical properties of the native tissue. For the outer layer, the adventitia, SF yarns were braided on top of the electrospun tubes to create a structure able to withstand high pressures. Compliance, Young's modulus and deformability of the obtained scaffold were similar to that of human blood vessels. Additionally, cytocompatibility of the two layers, media and intima, was assessed in vitro by analysing cell metabolic activity and proliferation of endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells, respectively. Furthermore, heparin functionalization of the scaffolds led to improved anticoagulant properties upon incubation in whole blood. The obtained results indicate a potential application of the herewith designed three-layered construct as a vascular graft for small diameter blood vessel engineering.

Neonatal jaundice (hyperbilirubinaemia) is common in neonates and, often, intensive blue-light phototherapy is required to prevent long-term effects. A photonic textile can overcome three major incubator-related concerns: Insulation of the neonate, human contact, and usage restraints. This paper describes the development of a homogeneous luminous textile from polymer optical fibres to use as a wearable, long-term phototherapy device. The bend out-coupling of light from the POFs was related to the weave production, e.g. weave pattern and yarn densities. Comfort, determined by friction against a skin model and breathability, was investigated additionally. Our textile is the first example of phototherapeutic clothing that is produced post-processing allowing for faster commercial production.