PLGA from PolySciTech used in developing Bioadhesive hydrogels for tissue-engineering applications

As a general rule, it is very difficult to have a material which adheres well to biological tissues. Biological tissues are warm, wet, and typically covered with a coating of proteins which tend to reduce adhesion. This makes designing adhesives for them very difficult. For tissue engineering applications it is critical that whatever scaffold or patch is applied, remains well-adhered to the tissue for it to work. The adhesive must also be biocompatible. Interestingly, a solution for bioadhesion has presented itself in nature from barnacles/mussels, which secrete an incredibly adhesive biopolymer to hold onto rocks. Recently, researchers at University of Texas at Arlington, used PLGA (PolyVivo AP154) from PolySciTech (www.polyscitech.com) to create nanoparticles to improve the bioadhesion of barnacle/mussel-inspired alginate-dopa hydrogels. This research holds promise for improved tissue engineering patches and scaffolds to treat wounds and defects. Read more: Pandey, Nikhil, Amirhossein Hakamivala, Cancan Xu, Prashant Hariharan, Boris Radionov, Zhong Huang, Jun Liao et al. "Biodegradable Nanoparticles Enhanced Adhesiveness of Mussel‐Like Hydrogels at Tissue Interface." Advanced healthcare materials (2017). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adhm.201701069/full

“Abstract: Popular bioadhesives, such as fibrin, cyanoacrylate, and albumin–glutaraldehyde based materials, have been applied for clinical applications in wound healing, drug delivery, and bone and soft tissue engineering; however, their performances are limited by weak adhesion strength and rapid degradation. In this study a mussel-inspired, nanocomposite-based, biodegradable tissue adhesive is developed by blending poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) or N-hydroxysuccinimide modified PLGA nanoparticles (PLGA-NHS) with mussel-inspired alginate–dopamine polymer (Alg-Dopa). Adhesive strength measurement of the nanocomposites on porcine skin–muscle constructs reveals that the incorporation of nanoparticles in Alg-Dopa significantly enhances the tissue adhesive strength compared to the mussel-inspired adhesive alone. The nanocomposite formed by PLGA-NHS nanoparticles shows higher lap shear strength of 33 ± 3 kPa, compared to that of Alg-Dopa hydrogel alone (14 ± 2 kPa). In addition, these nanocomposites are degradable and cytocompatible in vitro, and elicit in vivo minimal inflammatory responses in a rat model, suggesting clinical potential of these nanocomposites as bioadhesives.”