A gecko-inspired medical adhesive may have potential applications for sealing wounds and for replacement or augmentation of sutures or staples.
US researchers have used a polymer poly(glycerol-co-sebacate acrylate) and modified the surface to mimic the nanotopography of gecko feet, which allows attachment to vertical surfaces. Ideally these adhesives would also have the ability to deliver drugs or growth factors to promote healing. The findings have been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
As a first demonstration, a gecko-inspired tissue adhesive from a biocompatible and biodegradable elastomer combined with a thin tissue-reactive biocompatible surface coating was been created. Tissue adhesion was optimized by varying dimensions of the nanoscale pillars, including the ratio of tip diameter to pitch and the ratio of tip diameter to base diameter. Coating these nanomolded pillars of biodegradable elastomers with a thin layer of oxidized dextran significantly increased the interfacial adhesion strength on porcine intestine tissue in vitro and in the rat abdominal subfascial in vivo environment.
Perhaps this might also lead to taking the ‘ouch’ out of removing bandaids from the skin!
Busby Seo Challenge | 09-Aug-08 at 10:26 pm | Permalink
Hi it’s good! Good luck to your work. Busby Seo Challenge