A new ‘brain glue’ inspired by slug slime could transform neurosurgery

Scientists want to use slug-inspired glue to patch up the brain. 

Yes, you read that right. 

During a brain operation, surgeons have to cut through something known as the brain membrane, which helps protect the brain and the spine. 

But now, researchers inspired by the Dusky Arion slug have created a new gel that can glue the outer membrane, known as the dura, after surgery. 

The slug produces a particular type of mucus which allows it to stick firmly to any surface. 

Using this idea, neurosurgeon Dr Kyle Wu from the Ohio State University and his colleagues, created a hydrogel gel made up of two polymer networks, fused with an adhesive layer of chitosan (a sugar that comes from the outer skeleton of shellfish). 

The end product is known as Tough Adhesive. 

Dr Wu said: ‘As neurosurgeons, we routinely open the dura to access the brain or spinal cord but achieving a watertight seal of the dura at the conclusion of these procedures can be challenging in particular circumstances.’

The dura is one of three layers of membrane and has a consistency like wax on cheese.

Usually, to repair the dura, surgeons opt for suturing (stitching) or grafting (moving one part from the area and covering what’s missing). 

However, other adhesives do not work as the brain is, well, wet, and an airtight close is vital to stop a leak from happening. 

So to help create a more efficient way to close the dura, the team built on the original Tough Adhesive to create a new version, called Dural Tough Adhesive (DTA).

Bioengineer Dr David Mooney, who helped create the glue, said the DTA performed better than currently used surgical sealants in tests using the brains of rats and the spinal cords of pigs. 

It even did well when applied to a human cadaver through the nose and withstood pressures well beyond what would be seen even in someone with serious illness or injury.

Dr Mooney said: ‘We are excited to have opened a new perspective for neurosurgeons with this study that, in the future, could facilitate a variety of surgical interventions and lower the risk for patients who need to undergo them.

‘This study also underscores how unique and well-understood advances in the design of biomaterials, like the ones we made in our Tough Adhesive platform, have the potential to impact multiple, very diverse areas of regenerative medicine.’

The study is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.