High-Performance Dopamine-Based Supramolecular Bio-Adhesives.

The need for wound closure or surgical procedures has been commonly met by application of sutures. Unfortunately, these are often invasive or subject to contamination (and consequent infection and negative impact on patients). Alternative solutions are offered by surgical adhesives that can be applied and set without major disruption; a new class of supramolecular-based adhesives provide potential solutions to some of these challenges. In this study a series of polymers utilising dopamine as a self-assembling unit were synthesized. It was found that these motifs act as extremely effective adhesives, with control over the mechanical strength of the adhesion and materials' tensile properties enabled by changing monomer feed ratios and levels of crosslinking. These materials significantly outperform commercially available bio-adhesives, showing yield strengths after adhesion at least 2 times higher than that of BioGlue and Tisseel, as well as the ability to re-adhere with significant recovery of adhesion strength. Promisingly, the materials were shown to be non-cytotoxic, with cell viability > 90%, and able to perform in aqueous environments without significant loss in strength. Finally, the removal of the materials, after use as an adhesive, was possible using benign organic solvents such as ethanol, ensuring recyclability. These properties all demonstrate the effectiveness of the materials as potential bio-adhesives, with potential advantages for use in surgery. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.