Super-fast setting sticky polymers can suture tricky internal wounds

Sustainable, non-toxic polymers that set in seconds could be used to seal wounds inside the human body during surgery, researchers in the US believe. The materials, which can be produced from renewable resources and readily recycled, could potentially have broader uses as adhesives in everything from sticky notes to load-bearing structural materials.

α-lipoic acid is produced by many plants and animals, and it has been documented undergoing ring-opening polymerisation reactions. In theory, this could provide a renewable source for non-toxic polymers. Unfortunately, the resulting polymers have been prone to spontaneous depolymerisation. Researchers have sought to stabilise poly(α-lipoic acid) sufficiently to form useful materials, but success has been limited by an active radical at the end of the chain.