S.R. Raghavan
University of Maryland,
United States
Keywords: hemostasis, blood coagulation, tissue adhesive, reversible adhesion
Summary:
This talk will present two classes of biomaterials invented in our lab that are used (or being evaluated) for medical applications. The first uses an amphiphilic biopolymer that self-assembles with blood, connecting blood cells into a network. Thus, liquid blood is converted into a gel by a physical mechanism independent of the body’s clotting cascade. In turn, this polymer is able to stop bleeding from wounds. A product based on this technology (called Rapid-Seal Wound Gel, see photo) has been commercialized by a startup company, Medcura, that emerged from our lab. This product is available in pharmacies across the USA. A second example involves the phenomenon of electroadhesion (EA) i.e., adhesion that can be switched on by an electric field. We have found that EA can be used to adhere a cationic hydrogel to various biological tissues. This includes tissues from animals, including humans and other mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, etc. Gels can also be adhered to soft tissues from plants, including fruits and vegetables. In all cases, EA is induced by a low electric field (DC, 10 V) applied for a short time (20 s). After the field is removed, the adhesion is permanent. The adhesion can also be reversed by applying the field with opposite polarity. One application of EA is in sutureless surgery, i.e., to seal wounds by adhereing a gel patch over the injured tissue. Preliminary studies with mice show that surgeries can indeed be performed safely and effectively using EA.