Scientists Develop Non-Permanent Medical Adhesive

This week in adhesives news, scientists at Louisiana State University have created a non-permanent adhesive from a natural chemical reaction that can be used in the bio-medical field.

The group of scientists, led by doctoral candidate Elizabeth Jee, studied the natural chemical process that occurs when urea is broken down by the enzyme urease, which produces ammonia and carbon dioxide. Based on previous studies, scientists know how long it takes urease to break down urea, which can be used to create a chemical process called a "pH clock reaction." They chose urea and urease because it is one of the few nontoxic and natural clock reactions. By adding water and two chemicals -- a sulfur-based thiol and a synthetic acrylate--during the urea-urease clock reaction, the researchers were able to create a thin, water-soluble adhesive gel.