Cited by 431Surgical Sutures and AdhesivesHydrogels: synthesis, properties, applicationsWound Healing and Treatments

Injectable, self-healing hydrogel adhesives with firm tissue adhesion and on-demand biodegradation for sutureless wound closure

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Ren, Hui, Zhang, Zhen, Cheng, Xueliang, Zou, Zheng, Chen, Xuesi, He, Chaoliang·2023·Science Advances

Abstract

Tissue adhesives have garnered extensive interest as alternatives and supplements to sutures, whereas major challenges still remain, including weak tissue adhesion, inadequate biocompatibility, and uncontrolled biodegradation. Here, injectable and biocompatible hydrogel adhesives are developed via catalyst-free o- phthalaldehyde/amine (hydrazide) cross-linking reaction. The hydrogels demonstrate rapid and firm adhesion to various tissues, and an o- phthalaldehyde–mediated tissue adhesion mechanism is established. The hydrogel adhesives show controlled degradation profiles of 6 to 22 weeks in vivo through the incorporation of disulfide bonds into hydrogel network. In liver and blood vessel injury, the hydrogels effectively seal the incisions and rapidly stop bleeding. In rat and rabbit models of full-thickness skin incision, the hydrogel adhesives quickly close the incisions and accelerate wound healing, which exhibit efficacies superior to those of commercially available fibrin glue and cyanoacrylate glue. Thus, the hydrogel adhesives show great potential for sutureless wound closure, hemostasis sealing, and prevention of leakage in surgical applications.

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Ren, H., Zhang, Z., Cheng, X., Zou, Z., Chen, X., & He, C.
Affiliations
  • University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
  • Jilin University (CN)
Corresponding author
  • Ren, Hui
  • Zhang, Zhen
  • He, Chaoliang
Venue
Science Advances
Published
2023-08-18
Volume
9
Issue
33
Pages
eadh4327-eadh4327
ISSN
2375-2548 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4385860583
Cited by
431
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 147 · 2025: 185 · 2024: 91 · 2023: 8
FWCI
115.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
  • Science Advances (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (22105198, 52173147, 51833010, 20210204136YY, 51973218)
  • People's Government of Jilin Province (20210204136YY)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Surgical Sutures and Adhesives
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Medicine › Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Wound Healing and Treatments
Keywords
self-healing hydrogels, tissue adhesion, sutureless wound closure, disulfide bonds, hemostasis, liver injury, vascular injury, full-thickness skin incision, wound healing, fibrin glue, cyanoacrylate
MeSH terms
Tissue Adhesions, Adhesiveness, Animals, Disulfides, Hydrazines, Polyethylene Glycols, Rabbits, Skin, Swine, Wound Healing, Hydrogels, Rats

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