Light-Activated Mussel Adhesive Reduces Scarring

Jul-24-15 A new surgical glue inspired by mussels and activated by light will not only bind tissue more effectively, but also with less scarring as a result.

Called LAMBA (light-activated, mussel protein-based bioadhesive), the material differs from earlier mussel-based adhesives in that it can be activated by light. Inspired by the crosslinks found in insect wings, which are created by exposing the amino acid tyrosine to visible light, the team turned their attention to the tyrosine in mussel proteins. They found that when these proteins were exposed to blue visible light, the photochemical reaction caused the tyrosines to pair up instantly and close a wound in under a minute.

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