Revolutionary Oral Band-Aid for Chronic Lesions and Surgical Healing

DenTAl adhesive hydrogel seals wounds, delivers medication, and transforms dental care with sutureless healing inspired by slug mucus.

Highlights:

Nature-Inspired Biomaterial: Hydrogel mimics slug mucus for strong adhesion in wet conditions
Multi-Use Technology: Effective for wound sealing, regeneration, and drug delivery
Revolutionary Dentistry: Offers sutureless healing and better treatment for chronic oral lesions

A discovery based on slug slime could transform oral wound management and open up a new horizon for patients experiencing chronic inflammation and postoperative healing in dental practice ().

In case the slugs feel endangered they release mucus with very extraordinary mechanical properties. This substance is best applied on wet surfaces and has 15 times its original length upon stretching. These properties guided the researchers at Harvard to design a biomaterial that can bond in wet environments, a big problem in oral and other medical applications.

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‘Did You Know?
A slug’s sticky mucus has inspired a hydrogel patch that seals oral wounds even in wet environments! #dentalhealth #innovation’

Development of the Adhesive Hydrogel

Researchers in the Mooney Lab at Harvard SEAS and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering developed a strong adhesive hydrogel. This material is composed of approximately 90% water and a natural polymer derived from algae which is also used in dental impression materials.

Subsequently, preliminary, in vivo tests, examining the hydrogel on different animal tissues successfully proved its efficacy as a surgical, wound-sealing biomaterial.

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Dental Applications and the Birth of "DenTAl"

The present work was conducted in conjunction with the Mooney Lab to utilize this technology for dentistry. This effort resulted in the creation of the Dental Tough Adhesive (DenTAl), an intraoral wound dressing material from a hydrogel patch that works similarly to a bandage.

They added drug-release properties to the adhesive which enable the adhesive to release the therapeutic agents to the oral lesions. These advancements help to overcome such issues as the treatment of diseases like oral lichen planus and canker sores, for which the drug needs to make long contact with the affected area.

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Potential Applications in Dentistry

The adhesive hydrogel offers transformative potential across several dental and oral health applications:

Wound Repair: Capping or sealing wounds or sites that may be undergoing surgery, such as gingival graft harvest sites and extraction sockets.

Drug Delivery: Sustained and controlled drug delivery for managing inflammatory diseases that last for a long time.

Regenerative Dentistry: Promoting healing of exposed vital tissues of the oral cavity and oral mucosal tissue regeneration.

Sutureless Surgery: To facilitate better wound healing while avoiding the need for using ordinary sutures.

The multidisciplinary team stays focused on ensuring better oral health by constantly creating new products as observed with the DenTAl adhesive which has the capacity to revolutionize patient care and enhance the quality of life.

Reference:

Nature offers novel approach to oral wound care - (https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2024/12/nature-offers-novel-approach-to-oral-wound-care/)

Source-Medindia

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