We already mimic them to make fly-fishing lures. But now scientists working on some advanced medical technology believe copycatting one tiny insect could hold promise for repairing human tissues and setting bones.
Instead of stitches and screws, doctors may soon call on the next generation of medical adhesives — glues and tape — to patch us up.
The inspiration? Caddisflies, a type of stream-dwelling, fish-baiting insects that live in creeks all across the United States.
The medical adhesives we use today work pretty well outside the body. Attach a waterproof bandage to dry skin, and it will stay put, for a time. Brands such as Super Glue and Krazy Glue, which employ compounds called cyanoacrylates, also resist degradation in water.
The challenge for mechanical engineers, however, is making compounds that will stick to things when they’re already submerged.
“Typically we can make an adhesive bond that is stable underwater,” saidNicholas Ashton, a bioengineering researcher at the University of Utah. “But we can’t form the bond underwater.”
The inside of the human body is a watery environment. People are 60 percent water. Our insides are as fluid as fish tanks, and hostile to chemical adhesives, so doctors use mechanical means to mend bones and sew up internal tissues.
“The second you go inside the body, it changes the ball game entirely,” said Ashton.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: New Python Releases, an ESP32+MicroPython IDE and Much More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
