Chinese scientists develop snail mucus into adhesive for wounds

Beijing: Chinese scientists have developed a natural biological adhesive from snail mucus to heal traumatic injuries and chronic wounds.

Inspired by the age-old therapy, the researchers at the Kunming Institute of Botany under the Chinese Academy of Sciences identified a natural biological adhesive from snail secretion.

The team evaluated its in-vitro adhesion properties and in-vivo effects on wound healing.

According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications recently the adhesive from snail mucus gel consists of a malleable adhesive matrix that can adhere to wet tissue of wound through multiple interactions.

The hydro-gel effectively accelerates the healing of full-thickness skin wounds in both healthy and diabetic male rats.

Also, it can alleviate inflammation in chronic wounds and significantly improve regeneration. 

The findings can have important implications for developing next-generation bio-inspired tissue adhesives and bioengineered scaffold designs, said the researchers.

It is pertinent to mention here that land snails and their mucus were used to treat pain related to burns, abscesses, and wounds over 2,000 years ago.