IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v4y2013i1d10.1038_ncomms2715.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A bio-inspired swellable microneedle adhesive for mechanical interlocking with tissue

Author

Listed:
  • Seung Yun Yang

    (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
    Harvard Stem Cell Institute, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Eoin D. O'Cearbhaill

    (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
    Harvard Stem Cell Institute, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Geoffroy C Sisk

    (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis Street)

  • Kyeng Min Park

    (Harvard University)

  • Woo Kyung Cho

    (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Martin Villiger

    (Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, 40 Blossom Street)

  • Brett E. Bouma

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, 40 Blossom Street)

  • Bohdan Pomahac

    (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis Street)

  • Jeffrey M. Karp

    (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
    Harvard Stem Cell Institute, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Abstract

Achieving significant adhesion to soft tissues while minimizing tissue damage poses a considerable clinical challenge. Chemical-based adhesives require tissue-specific reactive chemistry, typically inducing a significant inflammatory response. Staples are fraught with limitations including high-localized tissue stress and increased risk of infection, and nerve and blood vessel damage. Here inspired by the endoparasite Pomphorhynchus laevis, which swells its proboscis to attach to its host’s intestinal wall, we have developed a biphasic microneedle array that mechanically interlocks with tissue through swellable microneedle tips, achieving ~3.5-fold increase in adhesion strength compared with staples in skin graft fixation, and removal force of ~4.5 N cm−2 from intestinal mucosal tissue. Comprising a poly(styrene)-block-poly(acrylic acid) swellable tip and non-swellable polystyrene core, conical microneedles penetrate tissue with minimal insertion force and depth, yet high adhesion strength in their swollen state. Uniquely, this design provides universal soft tissue adhesion with minimal damage, less traumatic removal, reduced risk of infection and delivery of bioactive therapeutics.

Suggested Citation

  • Seung Yun Yang & Eoin D. O'Cearbhaill & Geoffroy C Sisk & Kyeng Min Park & Woo Kyung Cho & Martin Villiger & Brett E. Bouma & Bohdan Pomahac & Jeffrey M. Karp, 2013. "A bio-inspired swellable microneedle adhesive for mechanical interlocking with tissue," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 4(1), pages 1-10, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:4:y:2013:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms2715
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2715
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2715
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/ncomms2715?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yuan Yang & Ruizeng Luo & Shengyu Chao & Jiangtao Xue & Dongjie Jiang & Yun Hao Feng & Xin Dong Guo & Dan Luo & Jiaping Zhang & Zhou Li & Zhong Lin Wang, 2022. "Improved pharmacodynamics of epidermal growth factor via microneedles-based self-powered transcutaneous electrical stimulation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:4:y:2013:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms2715. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.