Elastic glue for heart surgery inspired by slugs

Researchers in Bostonhavedeveloped a medical adhesive they say can seal holes in the heart and other tissue, an advancethat could replace the use of staples and sutures to close wounds.

The new adhesive, invented by Canadian-born Harvard medical school associate professor Jeffrey Karp, was inspired by the sticking abilities of slugs.

It's bothwater-resistantand elastic,allowing it to stretchas a beating heart expands and contracts.

In an interview that aired Saturdayon CBC Radios Quirks & Quarks, Karp tells host Bob McDonald that the glue only becomes active when ultraviolet light shineson it, so surgeons can more accurately bind the adhesive exactly where needed.

A biodegradable adhesive in the body offers advantages overmetal-based staples or sutures, he added.

Sutures and staples really are not mechanically similar to the tissues in the body, so they can induce stress on the tissue over time, said Karp, whois also a co-director of the Center for Regenerative Therapeutics at the Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston.

This is a material thats made from glycerol andsebacicacid, both ofwhich exist in the body and can be readily metabolized, he said. What happens over time is that this material will degrade. Cells will invade into it and on top of it, and ideally the hole will remain closed and the patient wont require further operations.

Researchers from Boston Childrens, Brigham and Womens Hospital and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology helped to develop the nontoxic substance.

The adhesive has been tested successfully on the hearts of pigs and rats, and on the carotid artery of a pig.The researchers hope the product will be on the market within the next two to three years.

Listen to the entire interview by clicking the embedded audio player.