Plant-Inspired Multifunctional Bioadhesives with Self-Healing Adhesion Strength to Promote Wound Healing

Bioadhesives are revolutionizing wound closure procedures. However, traditional bioadhesives lack functions to promote wound healing with a higher wound dehiscence rate than those treated with sutures. As a result, creating multifunctional bioadhesives to improve wound healing and facilitate wound care is extremely desirable in clinical settings. This study develops a series of multifunctional bioadhesives using succinic anhydride-modified hyaluronic acid (HASA) and plant-derived tannic acid (TA) with centrifuging and freeze-drying. By varying the ratio of HASA to TA, HASATA 1:2, 1:7, and 1:14 are fabricated with tunable adhesive strength from 39.6 ± 8.2 to 63.0 ± 12.0 kPa. The bioadhesives exhibit self-healing adhesive strength due to the reversible cohesion network developed by HASA and TA, enabling 25 to 50 times repeated wound closure. The animal studies reveal that the developed bioadhesives accelerate wound healing in the first week with a higher collagen content, more M2 macrophage upregulation and less oxidative stress. Moreover, the plant-derived TA endows the bioadhesives with antioxidant properties against four kinds of free radicals, and antibacterial activity against both gram positive and negative bacteria. Altogether, these bioadhesives may open new avenues for noninvasive wound closure in the clinical setting.