A number of studies have developed synthetic mimics of mussel glue for application in bone and tissue adhesives or sealants, however, these adhesives are delivered <i>via </i>biologically toxic solvents or water. Water soluble adhesives are difficult to be sequestered at the application site until they are completely crosslinked because they tend to dissolve in the surrounding body fluids. To overcome this complication, we synthesized an ethanol soluble but water insoluble tissue adhesive based on a poly(ester urea) copolymer. Ethanol being a clinically relevant solvent is a suitable delivery medium for tissue adhesives during surgeries. Incorporation of 20 mole% poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) groups in the polymer backbone resulted in ethanol soluble but water insoluble polymers. These polymers were further functionalized with catechol groups to mimic the mussel adhesive and their adhesion strengths on aluminum substrates and porcine skin were studied. By varying the catechol:crosslinker ratio and crosslinking time impressive adhesive strengths (10.6 ± 2.1 kPa) were obtained for these catechol functionalized poly(ester urea)s.

Poly(ester urea) based adhesives: Improved deployment and adhesion by incorporating poly(propylene glycol) segments

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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