Spray-on skin cells for burn victims

Discovery News | David Teeghman

First there was the spray-on tan, and now comes the spray-on skin cells. A new device can spray a burn victim's own skin cells onto damaged skin and dramatically reduce how much time it takes for burn patient to recover.

The Skin-Cell Gun, as it's called, earned that nickname because it basically works like a more complicated spray-paint gun. A doctor takes a biopsy from the patient's undamaged skin to isolate the healthy stem cells. A water-based solution containing those healthy stem cells is then sprayed on the burn, and the patient is on the fast track to recovery. It was through study of stem cells that allowed other researchers to develop a new approach that transforms skin cells into beating heart cells.

The process was first developed in 2008 by Professor Joerg C. Gerlach and colleagues at the Department of Surgery at the University of Pittsburg’s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

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