Goo of giant Salamanders is awesome to seal wounds

When giant Chinese salamanders are injured, they release white mucus from the glands on their skin. As new research shows, this sticky salamander is an excellent medical glue, healing wounds and causing them to heal.

Closing wounds after surgery is effective and safe. Most wounds are closed with sutures or staples, but often these "mechanical" approaches cause additional tissue damage and stress. Alternative suture-free approaches are needed, but they must be strong, tacky, environmentally friendly, low cost and easy to produce. Medical glues are currently available, but they are far from perfect, with limitations such as toxicity, poor elasticity and excessive heat at the site of the injury.

New research published in Advanced Functional Materials shows that cutaneous secretions from the giant salamander from China (Andrias Davidianus) can be used to produce a medical adhesive for healing wounds. A series of tests showed that the glue was effective in pigs and rats, effectively closing wounds and inducing healing. Researchers from Harvard Medical School, Chongqing Medical University Children's Hospital, Sichuan University and several other institutions contributed to this new document.

The giant salamander from China is more than 1.8 meters long and weighs more than 64 kg. She is the largest amphibian in the world. These creatures are considered living fossils, having emerged more than 200 million years ago at the dawn of the Jurbadic. Millions of years of evolution have endowed this giant amphibian with a unique healing strategy. after suffering a scratch or other injury, it excretes white mucus from the glands on the skin, which facilitates the healing process.

According to historical accounts, and as stated in the new document, the Chinese use these skin secretions to treat wounds, such as burns, for more than 1,600 years. Indeed, a study conducted in 2015 revealed that mucus contains many desirable properties, such as compounds that trigger tissue regeneration and an immune defense response.

Researchers have aptly named their new medical adhesive "cutaneous secretion of Andrias Davidianus, Or simply SSAD. To make the bioadhesive, the scientists directly collected the secretions of giant salamanders by irritating their skin. Once in freeze-dried powder form, a gel-like substance was created by adding saline solution. According to the authors, nothing extraordinary has been added to the mucus of the salamander.

Tests on pigs and rats showed that the compound worked well and provided satisfactory flexibility. That said, it was slightly less durable than other medical glues. Overall, however, its performance was better than that of commonly used medical adhesives. Using the glue, the scientists were able to close the bleeding skin incisions in less than 30 seconds. The compound also contributed to wound healing, virtually preventing scarring.

"We anticipate that low-cost, environmentally-friendly production, the ability to promote healing, and the good biocompatibility of SSADs offer a promising and practical option for suture-free wound closure, as well as" showed the current research, "concluded the authors of the study. "SSAD will probably overcome some limitations badociated with currently available surgical glues and may possibly be used to heal wounds on other delicate internal organs and tissues."

Needless to say, giant salamanders will be needed in mbad if this medical glue becomes popular among surgeons and other health professionals. The statistics provided in the study show that there are currently in China more than 20 million giant salamanders as breeders because amphibians are already bred for use for food and medical purposes. Yu Shrike Zhang, co-author of the study and researcher at Harvard Medical School's School of Medicine, told the scientist, "You do not have to kill any animals, you just have to scratch your skin very gently to collect mucus, "adding that it's" very durable, and you can get that adhesive for a long time. "

Despite this large captive population, Chinese wild giant salamanders are clbadified as endangered because they are losing their habitat for human activities, including mining and logging.