ZnMBG-loaded multifunctional tannic acid-based tissue adhesive for rapid hemostasis and enhanced wound closure

Robust wet-tissue adhesion remains a critical challenge for clinical bioadhesives. Tannic acid (TA), a natural polyphenol, serves as a promising building block for multifunctional adhesives due to the capacity of its phenolic hydroxyl groups to form strong hydrogen bonds with tissue surfaces. However, single-component systems often struggle to simultaneously address multiple pathological challenges including infection, hemorrhage, oxidative stress, and tissue regeneration. Therefore, the integration of diverse functional components to construct multifunctional adhesives endowed with antibacterial, hemostatic, antioxidant, and pro-repair properties has significant clinical importance for enhancing wound therapeutic efficacy. To address this need, we synergistically combined TA with zinc-doped mesoporous bioactive glass (ZnMBG) to construct a multifunctional TA-based tissue adhesive loaded with ZnMBG (STC@ZnMBG). TA contributes excellent antibacterial, antioxidant, and wet-adhesion properties, while ZnMBG offers favorable biocompatibility, sustained ion release, and multiple biological functions in promoting cell proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis. The coordination between TA and Zn²⁺ forms a metal-phenolic network (MPN) that modulates TA release, while ZnMBG endows the material with additional biological functionalities. Structural characterization confirmed that robust wet adhesion arises from the synergistic contributions of TA-protein hydrogen bonding and TA-Zn²⁺ coordination. The adhesive demonstrates excellent wet adhesion in a blood environment, rapidly activating platelets and erythrocytes to achieve effective hemostasis. Meanwhile, the synergistic antibacterial mechanism between TA and Zn²⁺ endows the material with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, while the phenolic hydroxyl groups of TA provide remarkable antioxidant capacity. In a rat full-thickness wound model, STC@ZnMBG promotes orderly collagen deposition and angiogenesis through Zn²⁺-mediated cellular modulation, facilitating high-quality wound healing. This study explores an MPN-based functional integration strategy, offering new design insights and experimental references for the development of clinical bioadhesives combining robust wet adhesion, hemostasis, antibacterial activity, antioxidant properties, and pro-repair characteristics.