Nanoglue attaches tissues to each other
Silica particles could repair and help engineer human organs
By Beth Mole
By slathering slivers of calf liver with nanoparticles, researchers can cement the tissue back together.
The researchers, based at the École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles in Paris, suggest that the particle paste could one day allow doctors to engineer and repair tissues without sutures or staples.
Silica nanoparticles in the biological glue sink into the mesh of polymer chains in gels and spongy tissue. Once the particles settle in, they make new links between the molecular chains.