This week in adhesives news, scientists at Yale have developed a new theory of adhesion.

A team of scientists lead by Katharine Jensen at Yale’s Soft Materials Lab conducted a series of experiments to compare the adhesion of two kinds of adhesive gels, those with liquid and those without. Looking at the adhesion on a micrometer scale, they discovered that the liquid gels released water when put under pressure, changing the way in which the liquid gels stuck due to the adhesion properties of water.

The new theory doesn’t disprove the old theory of adhesion, which doesn’t take into account liquid in gels, but instead adds a new dimension to the old model. The new theory helps to explain adhesion in cancerous cells and may help to improve formulas of current adhesives and to develop new gel adhesives. Researchers are also interested in the potential influence the discovery may have on tissue generation for medical uses that currently use hydrogels as scaffolding.

Read the full story here.

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Are you interested in news stories on a particular topic? Send your suggestions to Morgan Laidlaw at laidlawm@bnpmedia.com.