Superglue to fix fractures!

[theblackalchemist]

Superglue to fix fractures!

 

 

 

 

Sea-based sandcastle worms, which live off the California coast, are known to build sturdy tube-shaped homes from bits of sand, shell and their own natural glue. Now, bioengineers from US’ University of Utah have made a synthetic version of this superglue that will soon repair shattered bones in knees, other joints and the face.

 

“When you break a bone, the fractures are difficult to repair if they are not aligned precisely. So it’s very important to get those pieces aligned as well as possible,” explains Russell Stewart, associate professor of bioengineering and senior author of the study that will be published in the journal Macromolecular Biosciences. “We believe the synthetic glue we are working on would help fix some of the small bone fragments together.”

 

Stewart conducted the study with Hui Shao, a doctoral student in bioengineering; and Kent Bachus, a research professor of orthopaedics.

 

Nature’s gluing machine…

 

The sandcastle worm (phragmatopoma californica) – the researchers say – is an inch long, but capable of building long tubes using sand grains and shell fragments.

 

The worm “secretes two little dabs of glue onto the particle,” says Stewart. “And its building organ puts it onto the end of the tube and holds it there for about 25 seconds, wiggling it a little to see if the glue is set, and then it lets go.”

 

The glue is designed to set up and harden within 30 seconds after the worm secretes it. “It builds big, reef-like colonies, one grain of sand at a time,” Stewart says. “A colony that looks like a mound.”

 

 

 

Mumbai Mirror - Superglue to fix fractures!, Tech - TechTalk,Mumbai Mirror