The recent progress of tissue adhesives in design strategies, adhesive mechanism and applications

Tissue adhesives have emerged as an effective method for wound closure and hemostasis in recent decades, due to their ability to bond tissues together, preventing separation from one tissue to another. However, existing tissue adhesives still have several limitations. Tremendous efforts have been invested into developing new tissue adhesives by improving upon existing adhesives through different strategies. Therefore, highlighting and analyzing these design strategies are essential for developing the next generation of advanced adhesives. To this end, we reviewed the available strategies for modifying traditional adhesives (including cyanoacrylate glues, fibrin sealants and BioGlue), as well as design of emerging adhesives (including gelatin sealants, methacrylated sealants and bioinspired adhesives), focusing on their structures, adhesive mechanisms, advantages, limitations, and current applications. The bioinspired adhesives have numerous advantages over traditional adhesives, which will be a wise direction for achieving tissue adhesives with superior properties.