BASF has agreed to cooperate with French biotech firm Poietis to try to improve skin treatment with the use of 3D printing. The French company has pioneered a method of laser-assisted bioprinting said to enable scientists to reproduce organic tissue.

The technology will allow BASF to print skin cells in three-dimensional patterns within its Mimeskin skin equivalent material, which the German chemical giant said is the closest equivalent to the original physiological tissue of human skin.

“Compared to other bioprinting methods the laser-assisted technology provides higher resolution when it comes to the patterning of cells,” said Sebastien Cadau, head of BASF's tissue engineering development.

Poietis' bioprinting method will be the first step in enabling automatic reproduction of Mimeskin and could eventually lead to more advanced models with other types of cells, the companies said.