Mussel proteins as a basis for the development of novel medical adhesives

Bonding of living tissue by using biocompatible adhesive systems is a requisite application in medical engineering that has been subject of studies for some time. In bone regeneration applications, adhesives based on epoxides and acrylates are readily used. These systems currently have several drawbacks as they hamper the healing process of the glued tissue due to phlogistic or allergic reactions and also display insufficient hardening in wet conditions. Approaches concerning bonding of soft tissue to implants are unknown so far, although such adhesives based on mussel proteins have an enormous potential e. g. in the case of dental implants. The blue marine mussel Mytilus edulis has the ability to adhere to a wide variety of surfaces in sea water: e.g. glass, plastic, metal, wood, and even PTFE. Therefore the modification of conventional adhesive systems with sequences from the polyphenolic mussel adhesive-protein is a new trendsetting approach for the development of special adhesives for medical application. Entnommen aus <a_href="http://www.fiz-technik.de/db/b_tema.htm" target="_blank">TEMA</a>