Skin in a Syringe Unlocks New Healing for Burns

Why Burns Are Hard to Heal

Severe burns do more than damage the outer skin. Beneath the visible surface lies the dermis, a deeper layer that contains blood vessels, nerves, hair follicles, and sweat glands. These structures make skin elastic, sensitive, and able to regulate temperature. When burns destroy the dermis, the body loses more than just a protective covering.

Current treatments often focus on transplanting only the epidermis, the outer layer. While this can close a wound, it does not restore flexibility or sensation. Patients may face heavy scarring, limited movement, or pain where skin has tightened. Some wounds reopen because the new skin lacks strength. Harvesting dermis from healthy areas of the body can help, but it creates another large injury. For decades, this has left a gap in treatment: how to restore skin that is both protective and functional, without causing further harm elsewhere.

How the Gel Was Designed

To address this, scientists at Linköping University designed a gel able to carry living cells into a wound. They focused on fibroblasts, a type of connective tissue cell that plays a central role in building dermis. Fibroblasts can produce collagen and other proteins that give skin structure and elasticity.

These cells were grown on tiny porous beads made of gelatin. Gelatin was chosen because it resembles collagen, the main component of natural dermis. To ensure the beads stayed in place, the researchers combined them with hyaluronic acid, a substance already present in human skin that helps retain water and support cell growth.

The pieces were linked together using a method known as click chemistry, creating a material that behaves like a fluid when pushed through a syringe or 3D printer but solidifies once applied. This unique property allows the gel to be injected directly into wounds or shaped into customized grafts. The concept earned the nickname “skin in a syringe” because it brings living building blocks for dermis straight to where they are needed.

From Mice Tests to Human Potential

The next step was to test whether this gel could survive and integrate with living tissue. Researchers printed small “pucks” of the material containing fibroblasts and implanted them under the skin of mice. The results were promising: the cells remained alive and active, releasing proteins that signal the growth of new dermis. Blood vessels formed within the grafts, providing oxygen and nutrients vital for long-term survival. This showed that the gel was not just a carrier, but a platform for real tissue regeneration.

If this technology works in human patients, the impact could be significant. Instead of harvesting large pieces of skin for grafting, surgeons might only need a small biopsy to grow cells. These could then be expanded and mixed into the gel, ready for direct application. Because the dermis would regenerate alongside the epidermis, healed skin could become more elastic, more natural in appearance, and less prone to scarring. Patients could recover faster, face fewer follow-up surgeries, and live with skin that feels closer to what was lost. This approach also opens the possibility of tailoring grafts to wound shapes, giving doctors more flexibility in treatment.