Scientists Develop Squirtable Glue That Seals Wounds In Seconds

A potentially life-saving surgical glue that is highly elastic and adhesive can quickly seal wounds in seconds without the need for common staples or sutures.The surgical glue, called MeTro, is a development from biomedical engineers at the University of Sydney and biomedical engineers from Harvard University.MeTro has a high elasticity that can seal wounds in body tissues that need to expand and contract continuously, like the lungs, heart and arteries. Wounds on these types of tissues are prone to re-opening after sealing with staples and sutures.The glue is also beneficial for wounds that are in hard-to-reach places that have traditionally needed staples or sutures because of body fluids interfering with other sealants.“MeTro seems to remain stable over the period that wounds need to heal in demanding mechanical conditions and later it degrades without any signs of toxicity; it checks off all the boxes of a highly versatile and efficient surgical sealant with potential also beyond pulmonary and vascular suture a nd staple-less applications,” director of the Biomaterials Innovation Research Center at Harvard Medical School professor Ali Khademhosseini said in a press release.When treated with UV light, MeTro takes just 60 seconds to set. It has a built-in degrading enzyme that can customized for the amount of time needed to allow a wound to heal.“The beauty of the MeTro formulation is that, as soon as it comes in contact with tissue surfaces, it solidifies into a gel-...
Source: Medical Hemostat - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Source Type: blogs