Researchers find way to seal wounds with 'glue'

Although we live in a world with advanced medical technologies, extreme scenarios such as serious car accidents can still cause major casualties. But a gel-like substance developed by scientists can seal wounds in 60 seconds with UV light, which could, potentially, save many lives.

The substance was unveiled in a study published in the medical journal Science Translational Medicine.

Thanks to its high flexibility, the surgical glue can expand and contract on body tissues following their natural rhythm and preventing wounds from opening again.

Named MeTro, the material can also seal internal wounds that are hard to reach and normally require staples or sutures due to surrounding body fluid, said the University of Sydney, one of the leading schools in the project.

"A good surgical sealant needs to have a combination of characteristics: It needs to be elastic, adhesive, non-toxic and biocompatible," said lead author Nasim Annabi, assistant professor at Northeastern University, in a statement.

"Most sealants on the market possess one or two of these characteristics, but not all of them. We set out to engineer a material that could have all of these properties," Annabi added.

MeTro has successfully sealed incisions in the arteries and lungs of rodents and the lungs of pigs, and is ready to be tested on people, said Professor Anthony Weiss from University of Sydney, an author of the study.