Neat Bio-Adhesives · A New Molecular Approach for Designing Bio-Adhesive Materials

Closing wounds with tissue adhesives presents challenges, yet also offers a significant opportunity to revolutionize bleeding control and wound healing. While various formulations have been developed for soft-tissue adhesives, trade-offs between adhesive properties and toxicity have limited their clinical use. As a result, current products either act like sealants covering the wound (rather than adhesively joining its edges) or are limited to external surfaces, such as the skin and eyes. The objective of this grant proposal is to develop a novel approach for closing parenchymal wounds using a new class of adhesive materials with the properties of a strong tissue glue and minimal toxicity to surrounding tissues. The underlying assumption of this study is that neat (no water required as solvent), yet liquid polymer will overcome the limitations of currently used tissue adhesives.