Marine-Inspired Polymers in Medical Adhesion

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Marine Biology
• Surgical Innovation

Background:

• Medical adhesives are sought as alternatives to sutures and staples due to ease of application and biocompatibility.
• Adhesion to wet tissues remains a significant challenge for current medical adhesives.
• Marine organisms exhibit remarkable wet adhesion strategies, offering inspiration for new biomaterials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review marine animal adhesion strategies and their translation into medical adhesives.
• To highlight the clinical potential of bioinspired adhesives for various surgical applications.
• To explore future directions and overlooked sources for advanced medical adhesive development.

Main Methods:

• Review of peer-reviewed literature and patents on bioinspired medical adhesives.
• Focus on adhesion mechanisms of mussels, sandcastle worms, and cephalopods.
• Analysis of clinical translation status and target applications for marine-inspired adhesives.

Main Results:

• Mussels, sandcastle worms, and cephalopods provide diverse chemical and physical adhesion strategies.
• Several marine-inspired medical adhesives are progressing towards clinical application.
• These adhesives show promise for a wide range of surgical procedures requiring wet tissue adhesion.

Conclusions:

• Marine-inspired biomaterials offer potent solutions for challenging wet tissue adhesion in medicine.
• Continued research into marine organisms can yield novel adhesive strategies.
• Exploiting multiple bioinspired approaches may lead to next-generation medical adhesives.