The development of bioengineered skin.

Driven by the need for donor tissue for patients suffering from extensive burns, alternatives to autologous and cadaver-derived tissue have been under development for the past 20 years. Unilayered and bilayered models representing the skin's epidermal and/or dermal components have been developed using both cells and matrix materials. In addition to their use in patients with extensive burns, trials using these products on refractory and challenging patients with both acute and chronic wounds have led to the commercial availability of some of these products.