The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to define the requirements for the translation of a tough, adhesive hydrogel technology for general wound healing and internal sealants. General wound healing is a $24.6B market globally that is growing at 6% per year. This growth is primarily driven by increases in life expectancy and the rising prevalence of chronic illnesses. The proposed medical adhesive technology offers highly adhesive hydrogel scaffolds with tunable mechanical properties and the capacity to attach to wet and moving surfaces, offering new treatment options for complex and traumatic wound injuries. Tough adhesive hydrogels are expected to better heal injured tissues. The translation of this technology will impact the wound healing market by providing a dynamic multifaceted solution to unmet needs in wound care that use multiple product types, are subject to repeat dressing changes, and result in slow healing. This adhesive platform may be useful in many areas including tissue adhesives, wound dressings, and tissue repair, and may accelerate the research and commercial activities in wound healing and internal sealant markets.
This I-Corps project is seeks to define the requirements to develop improved medical adhesives using hydrogel technology. Adhesion to wet and dynamically moving surfaces including biological tissues is important in many fields, but has proven to be extremely challenging. Existing adhesives are cytotoxic, adhere weakly to tissues, or cannot be used in wet environments. To overcome these limitations, the proposed technology translates a bioinspired design for tissue adhesion consisting of two layers: an adhesive surface and a dissipative matrix. This approach differs from existing adhesives as it uses a multicomponent adhesion strategy that combines electrostatic interactions, covalent bonds, and physical interpenetration to generate extremely high adhesion. Results have shown that tough hydrogel adhesives generate adhesion energies on wet surfaces up to orders of magnitude higher than those of existing adhesives. Adhesion occurs within minutes independent of blood exposure and is compatible with in vivo dynamic movements.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
