Kelserra: An Algae-Inspired Bioadhesive for Use in Minimally Invasive Surgeries
Sara Fraser, Alan Fu, Alegria de Hepcée, Allen J. Ehrlicher, Vicky Barré, Maaluv Gandhi, Nathan Kim, Karim Mustafa, Marlo Naish, Anna Shi, Lucy Wiggers, Giuliana Zambito, Reno Zhu, Juliette Dinshaw, Nnenna Ebere, Tuna Gedik, Camille Heaney, Hailey Jukes, Sophie Williamson, Sara Yim, Sonia Ansari, Floriane Baudin, Mankush Gandhi, Tarun Kalyanaraman, Eden Karp-Foster, Siqi Mi, Sahil Atluri, Ruolin Hu, Canyu WuAbstract
Current wound closure methods have drawbacks when used in minimally invasive surgery. Traditional sutures are complicated and time-consuming to apply in this context, and synthetic adhesives can be toxic when used internally. The class of bioadhesives address these challenges, however their independent use in practice is limited due to their low tensile strength. In this work, we develop Kelserra, a novel bioadhesive derived from brown algae with maximized tensile strength and biocompatibility to address a current unmet need in the surgical field. Kelserra’s uniaxial yield stress peaked at 7.19 ± 0.47 kPa when the formulation contained 50 mg/mL alginate, 5 mg/mL phloroglucinol, 10 mg/mL xanthan gum, and 2.09 mg/mL Ca-EDTA and was pre-cured using saturated aqueous gluconic acid for 45 minutes. Kelserra’s uniaxial strength was higher than its lap shear strength when pre-cured. Additionally, the type of curing medium (air or PBS) did not significantly influence adhesive strength. This study is intended as a preliminary work inquiring into the possibility of the exploration of internal bioadhesives such as Kelserra, and further validation is required for translational applications. Internal bioadhesives like Kelserra could decrease surgery times, aid in the prevention of postoperative complications, and reduce the burden on the healthcare system.