Slug mucus adheres to body tissue so well that it could be used in surgery to close some wounds.
The animal kingdom still has much to teach us. The slug, for example, is not very tasty. But the mucus it produces in the face of its predators could be the source of a new technique for closing wounds. In any case, this is what a team from Harvard University (United States) is hoping for. According to a study published in Science, this sticky substance is likely to be used in the operating room.
Let us all the same remember our faces of disgust: no question of directly using the slug mucus. American researchers have found a way to synthesize the substance. They obtained a flexible material, but sticky, capable of closing surgical wounds.
From pork to mouse
According to laboratory tests, the adhesive makes it possible to bond various pig tissues: skin, cartilage, heart, arteries, liver… Faced with a heart covered in blood and damaged, scientists have succeeded in closing a wound. All without toxicity for human cells, unlike the SuperGlue.
Credit : Jianya Li, Adam D. Celiz, David J. Mooney
But what about a living organism? The experiment was reproduced in rats, injured to simulate a medical emergency. Again, the adhesive works well. Its effectiveness is comparable to that of homeostatic patches, currently used in surgery to stop bleeding.
Surgeons will have to be patient, but the promises are real. Because currently, closing wounds other than with sutures is very complicated. The strong adhesives that exist can be toxic to cells or adhere poorly to tissues. Another problem: some lose efficiency in high humidity.
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