TAGS: Sustainability / Natural Adhesives Hot-melt Adhesives Sealants
2022 witnessed various innovative research in the Adhesive & Sealant industry, especially in the sustainable innovations category. The scientists took inspiration from plants, sea creatures a well as house geckos.
Check out this curated write-up to help you stay up to date with the latest discoveries and advances of 2022.
Inspiration from Animals
New Octopus-inspired Glove to Grip Underwater Objects
A team of researchers led by Virginia Tech’s assistant professor Michael Bartlett has developed an
octopus-inspired glove capable of securely gripping objects underwater. Their research was selected for the July 13 cover of Science Advances. To design their glove, the researchers focused on re-imagining the suckers- compliant, rubber stalks capped with soft, actuated membranes. The design was created to perform the same function as the sucker of an octopus — activating a reliable attachment to objects with light pressure, ideal for adhering to both flat and curved surfaces.
Researchers Unravel Secret Behind Mussels' Strong Underwater Adhesion
Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) researchers have verified the
secret to the strong surface adhesion of mussel adhesive proteins (MAPs) even in an environment that causes oxidation. MAP is gaining attention as a biomedical material used as a bioadhesive or a drug delivery system as it is nature-derived and harmless to the body. However, there was a limitation in that Dopa, a major component of the mussel adhesive protein, is easily oxidized which leads to weakening of the surface adhesion.
New Biomimetic Synthetic Adhesive for Medical Applications
Researchers at Northwestern University have created a material from the mussel protein using a novel method to arrange molecules. The new material performs better than the mussel glue the research team were trying to mimic. The findings expand on how these protein-like polymers can be used as a platform to create new materials and therapeutics. “
The polymer could be used as an adhesive in a biomedical context, which means now you could stick it to a specific tissue in the body,” said Northwestern’s Nathan Gianneschi. “
And keep other molecules nearby in one place, which would be useful in wound healing or repair.”
New Non-toxic Biodegradable Medical Adhesives from Mussels
University of Toronto researchers’ latest study on
zebra and quagga mussels could lead to new medical adhesives and industrial coatings. The team found that the mussels adhered more strongly to glass than they did to plastics such as PVC or PDMS. This was expected, as glass is a hydrophilic (water-attracting) material similar to the rocks that the mussels use as substrates in nature. PDMS, on the other hand, repels water and is often applied to boat hulls to prevent biofouling. But there were some surprises as well.
Researchers Develop Robotic Hand with Gecko-inspired Grip
Stanford University researchers Ruotolo and Dane Brouwer have developed “farmHand” robotic hand. The researchers are graduate students in the Biomimetics and Dextrous Manipulation Lab, at Stanford (aka “the Farm”).
In their testing, the researchers demonstrated that
farmHand is capable of handling a wide variety of items, including raw eggs, bunches of grapes, plates, jugs of liquids, basketballs and even an angle grinder.
Innovations in Medical Adhesives
New Biocompatible Adhesive for Hair Transplants
A joint research team led by Professor Myungeun Seo and Professor Haeshin Lee from the KAIST Department of Chemistry developed a
bio-friendly adhesive from biocompatible polymers using tannic acid, the source of astringency in wine. The research team focused on tannic acid, a natural polyphenolic product. Tannic acid is a polyphenol present in large amounts in fruit peels, nuts, and cacao. It has a high affinity and coating ability on other substances, and we sense the astringent taste in wine when tannic acid sticks to the surface of our tongue.
New Flatworm-inspired Medical Adhesive Stops Blood Loss
Researchers from McGill University have developed a medical adhesive drawing inspiration from nature that could save lives. The
new adhesive is modeled after structures found in marine animals like mussels and flatworms. The new medical adhesive is suitable for situations where applying pressure on a wound is difficult or could make things worse, or the surface of the wound is too bloody for other commercially available medical glue.
New Stamp-sized Adhesive Stickers for Ultrasound Imaging
MIT engineers have developed a
new ultrasound sticker, a stamp-sized device that sticks to the skin and can provide continuous ultrasound imaging of internal organs for 48 hours.
The researchers applied the stickers to volunteers and showed the devices produced live, high-resolution images of major blood vessels and deeper organs such as the heart, lungs, and stomach. The stickers maintained a strong adhesion and captured changes in underlying organs as volunteers performed various activities, including sitting, standing, jogging, and biking.
New MAP-based Bioadhesive Enables Scarless Skin Grafting
Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) researchers have developed a
bioadhesive based on the mussel adhesive protein (MAP) that enables quick healing of wounds with minimum scarring. Skin transplantation using this adhesive can effectively revive skin without using sutures. The research team developed the bioadhesive by introducing allantoin and epidermal growth factor in a mussel adhesive protein coacervate. Upon application of this bioadhesive, the two drugs are successively released, according to the stage of the wound healing process, and regenerate the skin.
Results of the study indicate that the wound area recovered more efficiently than when treated with sutures used in current skin grafting. In particular, loss of hair follicles in the transplanted area was minimal, while collagen and major skin factor levels were effectively revived.
Researchers Develop Hot-melt Tissue Adhesive for Operative Wounds
NIMS has developed a
hot-melt tissue adhesive (i.e., medical glue that is applied in a molten state) capable of healing operative wounds. This adhesive has excellent medical material properties in terms of its ease of use, adhesiveness to tissues, biocompatibility and ability to prevent postoperative complications. This tissue adhesive is expected to be able to transform into a stable gel within the human body, strongly bind to tissues and eventually decompose and be absorbed by the body, thereby preventing postoperative adhesions from developing and eliminating the need for secondary surgery. In fact, animal testing using rat cecum-abdominal wall models demonstrated that the use of this adhesive caused no postoperative adhesion.
New Water-hating Fluid to Revolutionize Tissue Adhesive
Researchers have developed a first-ever hydrophobic (water-hating) fluid, which displaces body fluids surrounding an injury allowing for
near-instantaneous gelling, sealing and healing of injured tissue.
The new bio-glue is developed in partnership by Western University’s biomaterials expert Kibret Mequanint and with Malcolm Xing from the University of Manitoba.
New Biomaterial-based Adhesive Helps in Tendon Regeneration Process
Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have developed Janus Tough Adhesives, a multi-functional biomaterial-based tendon therapy that addresses key challenges in the tendon regeneration process. The two-sided material
firmly adheres to tendons with one of its specifically engineered surfaces, while allowing normal gliding of healing tendons with its opposite mechanically tough yet elastic surface. Janus Tough Adhesives (JTAs) can act as high-capacity drug depots, slowly releasing small molecules into tendon tissue to help facilitate healing.
Inspiration from Plants
Researchers Discover Natural Super Glue from Mistletoe Berries
A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPICI) and McGill University in Canada discovered the
strong adhesive properties of white-berry mistletoe.
The mistletoe berry's flexible fibers adhere to both skin and cartilage as well as to various synthetic materials and could find application in many fields, such as wound sealant in biomedicine, through ease of processing.
Researchers Discover Method to Make Sticky Tar with Good Adhesive Properties
A research team from the Universities of Tübingen and Cape Town discovers how
tar with good adhesive properties can be produced using stone-age methods – indications of the first technical innovations.
Early Homo sapiens in South Africa used glue from local stone yew trees in the Mesolithic to attach stone tools to wooden spears, for example. This adhesive has excellent adhesive properties and can only be produced using a complex process.
Other Key Research
Researchers Develop Green Adhesives Made from Whey
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS in Hermsdorf, together with TU Dresden, have now developed a process for
extracting valuable high-purity ethyl acetate, a colorless solvent, from the molasses. Ethyl acetate is often used when manufacturing adhesives, printing inks or varnishes. It can also be used to clean surfaces.
New Study Finds Stickiness of Adhesives can be Controlled by Ultrasound
McGill University researchers have discovered that they can
control the stickiness of adhesive bandages using ultrasound waves and bubbles. This breakthrough could lead to new advances in medical adhesives, especially in cases where adhesives are difficult to apply such as on wet skin.
“
Bandages, glues, and stickers are common bioadhesives that are used at home or in clinics. However, they don’t usually adhere well on wet skin. It’s also challenging to control where they are applied and the strength and duration of the formed adhesion,” said McGill University Professor Jianyu Li, who led the research team of engineers, physicists, chemists, and clinicians.
Researchers Develop Debonding On-Demand Eco-friendly Adhesive
A Cal Poly faculty member and several students have developed a new adhesive, in collaboration with an East Coast company, that has the potential to significantly impact the amount of consumer materials that are recycled in the U.S. and worldwide. They created the
new adhesive as an alternative to low-cost glues frequently used in consumer materials, such as clothing and electronics. Those glues tend to have bonded parts that are permanent, requiring energy-intensive recovery facilities to recycle. Thus, discarded products often end up in landfills.
“
The goal is to significantly impact recycling and actually enable the circular economy,” Stokes said. “
The part of the circle that has been completely neglected is this disassembly part. People talk about recycling plastics or using biobased materials, but rarely do you hear about disassembly of the item at the end of its life.”
New Eco-glue Replaces Formaldehyde in Wood Construction
Researchers at Aalto University have developed a
bio-based adhesive that can replace formaldehyde-containing adhesives in wood construction.
The main raw material in the new adhesive is lignin, a structural component of wood and a by-product of the pulp industry that is usually burned after wood is processed. As an alternative to formaldehyde, lignin offers a healthier and more carbon-friendly way to use wood in construction.
gluECO Adhesives to Develop Environmentally Friendly Adhesives Based on Zein Protein
A recyclable, compostable and
biodegradable adhesive developed by Purdue University researchers has been optioned to Massachusetts-based gluECO Adhesives LLC, which plans an initial line of products in the fourth quarter of 2022. “
Our adhesives will be 100% biobased and food safe. This makes them ideal for any food or pharmaceutical product that may have direct contact with adhesives and packaging. In addition, we are exploring applications where the adhesive acts as a specialty polymer to create composite materials,” Rosen said. “Our R&D team will also develop custom formulations based on inquiries.”
New Reusable Structural Adhesives from Common Household Plastic
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory used polymer chemistry to transform a
common household plastic into a reusable adhesive with a rare combination of strength and ductility, making it one of the toughest materials ever reported. The study advances pathways to design a new class of tough adhesives with desirable features merged into a single material. The technology adapts to bear heavy loads, tolerates extreme stress and heat, and reversibly bond to various surfaces including glass, aluminum and steel.
Source: Curated by SpecialChem