18.02.2020

Empa developing adhesive for heart tissue

St.Gallen – The Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) has developed a tissue glue that can repair lesions in defective heart muscle tissue. For this, the researchers took inspiration from mussel silk.

Heart tissue can be damaged by a heart attack or congenital disorder. The causes an issue for the healing process, in that the muscle must simultaneously continue to work constantly, as outlined in a press release issued by Empa. Researchers working at the Empa Laboratory for Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles, which is based in St.Gallen, have therefore been looking for a tissue glue that would not only adhere to the beating heart, but also retain a high level of elasticity.

They turned to nature for the answer. For example, mussels produce adhesive threads that also “remain firm under water and yet highly elastic”. These mussel silks are made of the structural proteins mfp-3 and mfp-6, among other substances. The research team headed up by Claudio Toncelli have now used gelatin as the base product for their glue, as its structure comes very close to some of the natural properties seen in human connective tissue. The researchers equipped gelatin biopolymers with functional chemical units similar to those of the sea silk proteins mfp-3 and mfp-6. This produces a gel which, as soon as it comes into contact with tissue, allows the structural proteins to cross link with each other. This creates a stable connection between the wound surfaces.

"The tissue adhesive can resist a pressure equivalent to human blood pressure," says Empa researcher Kongchang Wei with regard to the lab experiment the research team have conducted. Tissue compatibility has also already been empirically proven, with clinical application to now be driven forward.