PLA from PolySciTech used in development of mussel inspired bio-adhesives

 

Adhesives are typically not environmentally friendly or biocompatible as they are manufactured of synthetic chemicals which do not provide for good interactions with cells. Recently, researchers at Purdue University used PLA (AP138) from PolySciTech (www.polyscitech.com) to create catechol modified PLA for adhesives usage and tested these for their interactions with cells. This holds promise to provide for either a bioadhesive or tissue engineering construct. Read more: Hollingshead, Sydney, Heather Siebert, Jonathan J. Wilker, and Julie C. Liu. "Cytocompatibility of a mussel‐inspired poly (lactic acid)‐based adhesive." Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A (2021). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jbm.a.37264

“Abstract: Incorporating catechols into polymers can provide strong adhesion even in moist environments, and these polymers show promise for use in several biomedical applications. Surgical adhesives must have strong bonds, be biocompatible, and function in a moist environment. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) has a long history as a biocompatible material for hard tissue device fixation. By combining these concepts, catechol-containing poly(lactic acid) (cPLA) polymers are created that are strongly adhesive and degrade in physiological environments. Here, we evaluated the cytocompatibility of cPLA with iron(III) or periodate (IO4−) cross-linkers. Fibroblasts cultured in cPLA leachate or on cPLA films generally had slower growth and lower metabolism compared with PLA controls but no differences in viability. These results demonstrated that cPLA was not cytotoxic but that including catechols reduced cell health. When cPLA was cross-linked with periodate, cells generally had reduced metabolism, slower cell growth, and poor actin fiber formation compared with PLA. These results are attributed to the cytotoxicity of periodate since cells cultured with periodate leachate had extremely low viability. Cells grown on the films of iron-cross-linked cPLA generally had high viability and metabolism but slower proliferation than PLA controls. These results indicate that the cPLA and iron-cross-linked cPLA systems are promising materials for biomedical adhesive applications.”