Hydrogel & # 39; Superglue & # 39; could change the situation in case of serious knee injuries

Are you experiencing common problems? A revolutionary new superglue material could revolutionize treatments such as knee surgery by adhering heavily to the injured body part and then carrying repair cells or drugs to stimulate tissue regeneration. Developed by two groups of researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), the new hydrogel, composed of nearly 90% water, adheres naturally to soft tissues such as cartilage or meniscus.

"In cases of cartilage damage, it is common for surgeons to discover that a hole is present in the cartilage," Dominique Pioletti, associate professor at EPFL's laboratory of biomechanical orthopedics, told Digital Trends. "If a piece of cartilage has been torn – for example, as a result of a serious injury to the leg – to repair it, you must insert a substance, such as a scaffold, into the defect. Fixing this material on the treated tissue is generally difficult and relies on a mechanical system such as stitches. It's a paradox because it means you have to further damage the tissue that you are supposed to treat. "

This is not the only problem. The suture of a soft tissue such as a meniscus can be difficult when the suture is placed on a carrying part of the tissue. Having a material that adheres itself to the fabric is therefore an interesting alternative and likely to change the game.

The hydrogel developed by the researchers is ten times more adhesive than other bioadhesives developed for this task. Its high water content also gives it a composition similar to that of the natural fabric it is designed to heal. "This hydrogel has the advantages of being mainly composed of water, which facilitates its injection with the help of a small needle and will allow us to load it with cells or drugs", said Pioletti. "Cells or drugs can therefore be maintained locally where the hydrogel is applied."

At present, researchers have developed the gel itself. The next part of the study will consist of combining the hydrogel developed with the necessary repair cells and other drugs to facilitate the repairs. Hopefully the clinical trials will not be too long.

An article describing the research, entitled "Dual-network composite hydrogels to improve adhesion to biological surfaces," was recently published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.