Design of adhesive nanomaterials for tissue repair

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Globally, 310 million major surgeries are performed each year, with the number continuing to grow. Current surgical closure methods involve the use of invasive techniques such as sutures or staples, which often result in secondary tissue damage and microbial infection. To address these shortcomings, biological adhesives have emerged as an effective wound sealing solution, currently constituting a market share of $38 billion. Nanotechnology has emerged as a new tool for the design of adhesive biomaterials. Recent advances have shown that silica nanoparticles are able to glue biological tissue together by forming an adhesive layer through adsorption of proteins onto their surfaces. While this approach provides a fundamental proof of concept, nanoparticle glues are so far limited to inorganic materials, the properties (shape, size, and functionality) of which are difficult to control. In contrast, organic nanoparticles can be readily manipulated to achieve a wider range of surface functionality, morphologies, and dimensions, and hence are anticipated to enable major advances in tissue adhesive applications through the ability to tune and tailor their adhesive properties.My vision is to develop new organic nanomaterials that will provide a much richer and versatile platform for tuning the adhesive strength to tissues, enabling a step change in the field. This research will deliver important fundamental understanding of the structure-activity relationship between nanoparticle properties and adhesive behaviour and in doing so it will fully realise the potential of nanostructures as tissue adhesives.