Tough Hydrogel Bioadhesives for Sutureless Wound Sealing, Hemostasis and Biointerfaces

Abstract

Hydrogel bioadhesion technology has offered unprecedented opportunities in minimally-invasive surgeries, which are routinely performed to reduce postoperative complication, recovery time, and patient discomfort. Existing hydrogel-based adhesives are challenged either by their inherent weak adhesion under wet and dynamic conditions, or potential immunological side-effects, especially for synthetic hydrogel bioadhesives. Here, a kind of synthetic hydrogel bioadhesives from a variety of polymer precursors are reported, featuring instant formation of tough biointerface, allowing for wet and robust adhesion with highly dynamic biological tissues. Moreover, by getting rid of monomers during the hydrogel fabrication, these hydrogel adhesives do not cause any inflammatory response during the in vivo wound sealing, promising for immediate vascular defects repairing and surgical hemostasis. Additionally, they could also serve as human–electronics interfacing materials, enabling bioelectronics implantation for real-time physiological and clinical monitoring.