A soft glue to close wounds and relieve pain – SoftGlue

Pain is one of the most distressing symptoms during the early postoperative period. Pain also occurs when rigid sealants are employed to stick tissues or close wounds as they hurt fragile tissues. To the best of our knowledge there is yet no sealant able to connect tissues in a soft manner. In this context, our project aims to develop original “soft glues” to efficiently connect tissues without mechanical constraints. SoftGlue will be elaborated in a one-step, easy to be scaled-up method, in water, at room temperature and without the need of organic solvents. In vitro studies will be carefully designed to minimize animal experiments, better understand the mechanisms of action of SoftGlue and optimize the formulations. First, in vitro sealing properties of SoftGlue will be assessed and compared to commercial products. Mechanical properties will be characterized using a set of standard procedures. In addition, we will develop an original method to study the bioadhesive properties, using an optical device to visualize SoftGlue in tissues under mechanical stresses (effect of thermo - mechanical solicitations) mimicking in vivo bonding wounds, blood flow, etc. After in vitro evaluations, selected few (3-4) SoftGlue will be evaluated in vivo. Tissue regeneration will be evaluated and neovessels formation will be investigated. Cell proliferation and migration will be assessed. Finally, a detailed diagram of the possible in vitro and in vivo toxic and genotoxic effects will be established. This project is a real opportunity to develop a long-term collaboration between complementary teams and to get this consortium persisting beyond scope of the project. SoftGlue is an ambitious interdisciplinary project dealing with an important societal need.