Development of medical adhesives
A Fraunhofer IFAM spin-off has set itself the task of developing medical adhesives.
German Fraunhofer IFAM has been developing adhesives for 50 years that are used in all technical industries. The development of biomimetic adhesives for medical technology is particularly demanding. In the GO-Bio project “mediNiK”, a biocompatible medical adhesive with selective adhesion for the removal of kidney stone residues for endoscopic therapy has been successfully developed together with medical partners. A spin-off company of the institute will continue to advance this technology in the future. After successfully completing the financing, Purenum GmbH is now starting its research work in Bremen, Germany.
Intelligent gluing of kidney stone fragments
“The advantage of the medical adhesive lies in the fact that the adhesive application can be integrated into previous endoscopic surgical procedures without new instruments or additional complicated procedural steps. After removal of the large kidney stones, the remaining residual fragments are glued with the 'mediNiK' adhesive, which is supplied with the endoscope via the urinary tract during the operation. This makes the adhesive-stone fragment conglomerate so large that it can be easily removed with conventional trapping instruments,” says IFAM engineer Manfred Peschka, describing the new procedure.
“But the actual know-how lies in the development of the adhesive itself: The adhesive exhibits selective adhesion and adheres neither to the medical instruments used nor to the kidney tissue, but only to the stone fragments. The polymerised and elastic adhesive gel is highly visible via the endoscope camera and thus provides the treating urologist with information about possible adhesive residues,” says Peschka explaining the progress made in medical technology.
Event tip:
Even though medical applications are not the focus of the European Coatings Seminar Composition of Reactive Sealants and Adhesives, visiting this training on November 2013 will give you a deep understanding of how sealers and adhesives work and enable you to start working in this area.
