Bioadhesives Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications: Design, Development, and Bench-to-Bedside Translation

Adjoining two dissimilar materials or repairing damaged structures with adhesives is one of the most common mechanical processes in diverse applications. This holds true for biomedical and clinical applications where the integration of various devices to the target organs or repair of injured tissues are ubiquitous demands in both research and surgical procedures. However, the soft, wet, dynamic, and body fluid-covered (such as blood) nature of biological tissues imposes a unique challenge for forming adhesion. In light of these challenges, bioadhesives have rapidly emerged as one of the most actively researched fields in biomaterials in the last decade. In our collaborative team, we have advanced various bioadhesive technologies to provide basic scientific and technological platforms and methods as well as translational applications of various bioadhesive devices to address unmet needs in biomedical and clinical indications. In this seminar, several key advances in bioadhesive biomaterials, especially bioadhesive hydrogels and their translational applications, will be introduced with discussions on the remaining challenges and future perspectives.