Rapidly photocurable silk fibroin sealant for clinical applications

Sealants are useful as agents that can prevent the leakage of gas or nonclotting fluids from damaged tissues and of blood from the vascular system following injury or repair. Various formulations for sealants have been developed and applied clinically, but problems still remain in terms of biocompatibility issues, long crosslinking times and low adhesive properties. Herein, to address these issues, we report a methacrylated silk fibroin sealant (Sil-MAS) with rapidly crosslinkable, highly adhesive and biocompatible properties and demonstrate its versatility as a medical glue. The excellent physical properties of Sil-MAS are revealed via in vitro mechanical tests and ex vivo aorta pressure tests. In addition, in in vivo biological tests on the skin, liver, and blood vessels of rats, Sil-MAS showed a superb hemostatic and adhesive ability, with high biocompatibility. Specifically, Sil-MAS strongly contributed to faster wound healing than commercially available materials. Furthermore, we showed a successful proof of concept that Sil-MAS could serve as an ideal photocuring laparoscopic medical glue in a laceration rabbit model of liver and stomach serosa using a homemade endoscopic device. These findings on the applicability of rapidly photocurable silk fibroin indicate that Sil-MAS is a suitable material to supplant existing sealants, adhesives, or hemostatic agents. Biomaterials: Medical glue from a silk protein An efficient, fast-acting and biocompatible glue for sealing damaged body tissue has been developed by scientists in South Korea and the USA. The ability to stop bleeding is crucial in surgery. One solution is to use medical glues that can seal tissue and blood vessels. These glues need to be biocompatible, fast-acting, long-lasting and low cost. Many such sealants are now clinically available, but most do not meet all these requirements. Chan Hum Park from Hallym University in Chuncheon, South Korea, and co-workers developed a fast-acting, highly adhesive and biocompatible medical glue using a material derived from a silk protein. The team tested their methacrylated silk fibroin sealant on rat skin, liver and blood vessels and observed faster wound healing than that obtained using commercially available materials. We report methacrylated silk fibroin sealant (Sil-MAS) with rapid crosslinkable, highly adhesive and biocompatible properties and demonstrate its versatility as medical glue. The excellence for physical properties of Sil-MAS is revealed vi