A new medical glue is completely non-sticky when it is dry but becomes an incredibly strong adhesive the moment it touches water.
April 26, 2026
Original Paper
Water-Activated, Peptide Coiled-Coil-Based Robust Supramolecular Adhesives for Multifunctional Tissue Healing and Sealing
SSRN · 6643477
The Takeaway
Traditional glues often fail in surgery because the body is too wet for them to stick to organs or skin. This peptide-based adhesive only activates when it comes into contact with fluid. Once it is wet, it can stretch to over 60 times its original length and heal its own tears. It creates a robust seal that can withstand the constant movement of a beating heart or expanding lungs. This material provides a way to close internal wounds without the need for traditional stitches or staples.
From the abstract
Overcoming wet tissue adhesion remains a persistent challenge in biomedicine due to interference from blood and tissue fluids, yet there is strong demand for biosafe, robust, and multifunctional surgical bioadhesives. We present a supramolecular adhesive network that integrates peptide coiled-coils with polyethylene glycol (PEG). In this system, coiled-coil motifs, formed in situ through zinc ion chelation, spatially organize amphiphilic residues to enable tissue adhesion via van der Waals force