Mussel-inspired hydrogel tissue adhesives for wound closure

Abstract

Tissue adhesives have been introduced as a promising alternative for the traditional wound closure method of suturing. Design and development of tissue adhesives for biomedical applications has been inspired by outstanding examples in nature. This review covers the adhesive mechanisms, applications and characterizations of various biomimetic tissue adhesives reported during the past decade, with a focus on the mussel-inspired dopamine-based adhesives, which have attracted extensive interest due to their promising adhesive performance in a wet environment.