ABSTRACT
A variety of biological and synthetic organic chemical materials are used for wound closure; they act as a direct substitute for sutures, permitting sutureless closure for suture support. These materials are described as adhesives, glues, and/or sealants. Glues and adhesives have a considerable history1 dating back to at least 4000 B.C. An early denition of glue is as follows: an organic material with adhesive properties that is obtained from the skin and other nonmeat parts of cattle and sheep,2,3 which are by-products of the meat packing industry. Glues were produced by boiling these parts and reducing the liquid extract (liquor). The rst patent for glue was granted in the United Kingdom in 1850 for a product made from sh. Glue materials are also derived from insects such as bees.4 The early preparation of glues was not unlike that of the preparation of gelatin and gelatin-like materials from animal tissues, and there are materials described as gelatin glues.5-8
Until approximately 1920, glues and adhesives were derived from natural sources as described previously. Although most glues and adhesives today are derived from synthetic organic chemistry, there is still considerable interest in adhesives from natural or renewable sources.9 Examples of adhesives derived from natural resources include lignins, tannins, carbohydrates,10 and proteins.11-13 Carbohydrates used as adhesives include cellulose, starches, and dextrin (product of dry-roasting starch in the presence of an acid catalyst). In addition, natural gums (hydrophilic and hydrophobic polysaccharides) are adhesives. Other examples include the use of chitosan derivatives14,15 and mucilaginous compounds.16 Casein from milk and blood protein has been used as an adhesive.17 Cereal ours have been included in glues.18 These various glue products are used primarily in the manufacture of wood products, including veneer panels. It is generally thought that albumin is the active component from blood as it is present in the highest concentration. It is noted that bovine albumin is used with glutaraldehyde as a surgical adhesive and in suture support,19 which is marketed as BioGlue®.20,21 Blood and casein are compounded with other materials for the nal adhesive product. The resulting glue products have the quality of being gap lling and cold setting, which are major attributes in the furniture industry. Soy and peanut powders and bovine blood have been used with phenol-formaldehyde for adhesive resins for wood composites.22 Wheat, gluten, and soluble starch are used as extenders in KLF (Kraft-lignin-formaldehyde)-isocyanate adhesive.23
