Importance

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Abstract

The invention relates to an artificial skin which is made up of (1) a water vapor-permeable, non-porous top layer of a segmented thermoplastic copolyester with a thickness of 5-200 .mu.m, consisting essentially of a multiplicity of recurring long-chain-ester-units and short-chain-ester-units, the long-chain-ester-units making up 30-70% by weight of the copolyester and being represented by the formula --OLO--CO--R--CO-- and the short-chain-ester-units being represented by the formula --OEO--CO--R--CO-- wherein L in the long-chain-unit represents a divalent group which remains after removal of the terminal hydroxyl groups from a poly(oxyethylene) glycol with an average molecular weight of 500-3000; R is a divalent group which remains after removing the carboxyl groups from a dicarboxylic acid with a molecular weight of at most 300; and E in the abovementioned short-chain-unit represents an alkylene group having 2-6 carbon atoms, and (2) a macroporous underlayer of a degradable, biocompatible (co)polymer having a thickness of 30-300 .mu.m, the diameter of the pores having a value of 30-300 microns and the macroporosity being 30-80%. The artificial skin according to the invention can also be designed as a single-layer film, in which case the abovementioned top layer and underlayer gradually merge into one another. Furthermore, the top layer of the artificial skin can be provided with autologous epithelial cells such as keratinocytes and the underlayer can be provided with autologous fibroblasts.

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First Claim