Transforming a soybean processing byproduct into a material for skin protection and repair is the prospect outlined by a study that used okara, a residue from the production of tofu and soy-based beverages, to obtain a bioactive, biodegradable, 3D-printable biomaterial.

The material could contribute, in the future, to the development of devices for the local treatment of pain associated with breastfeeding and postoperative recovery following breast cancer surgery.

The interdisciplinary research was coordinated by Carmen Lammi, professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Milan, in collaboration with the team led by professor Serena Graziosi of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, and with Raffaele Pugliese, a researcher at the NeMO Lab Research Center—Niguarda Hospital in Milan.