Hotmelt tissue adhesive with supramolecularly-controlled sol-gel transition for preventing postoperative abdominal adhesion

Postoperative adhesion is a serious and frequent complication, but there is currently no reliable anti-adhesive barrier available due to low tissue adhesiveness, undesirable chemical reactions, and poor operability. Here, we report a single-syringe hotmelt tissue adhesive to prevent postoperative abdominal adhesions. Through the augmentation of intermolecular hydrogen bonding by conjugation of the ureidopyrimidinone unit to tendon-derived gelatin, the sol-gel transition behavior of gelatin was supramolecularly-controlled, which provided a hotmelt tissue adhesive that dissolves upon warming over 40 °C and glues at 37 °C. This functionalization improved the key features necessary for an anti-adhesive barrier, including bulk mechanical strength, tissue adhesive properties, underwater stability, and anti-adhesive property. This hotmelt tissue adhesive with excellent tissue adhesiveness, biocompatibility, and operability has enormous potential to prevent postoperative complications.