以蜘蛛网为灵感的胶带，可以代替手术缝合线

工程师们发明了一种以蜘蛛网为灵感的胶带，可以代替手术缝合线

Inspired by the sticky substance spiders use to catch their prey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers have designed a special double-sided tape that can rapidly seal tissues together, according to researchers.

研究人员称，受蜘蛛用来捕捉猎物的粘性物质的启发，麻省理工学院的工程师们设计了一种特殊的双面胶带，可以快速将组织密封在一起。

The new discovery has only been tested on rat and pig tissue — including the small intestine, stomach, liver and skin — but scientists hope it will eventually replace sutures, which they say don’t always work and may cause infections.

这项新发现只在老鼠和猪的组织(包括小肠、胃、肝和皮肤)上进行了测试，但科学家希望它最终能取代缝合线，因为缝合线并不总是有效，而且可能会导致感染。

They found that the new tape can bind tissues within just five seconds, according to MIT News.

据麻省理工学院的新闻报道，他们发现新的胶带能在5秒内将组织粘合起来。

“There are over 230 million major surgeries all around the world per year and many of them require sutures to close the wound, which can actually cause stress on the tissues and can cause infections, pain and scars. We are proposing a fundamentally different approach to sealing tissue,” Xuanhe Zhao, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and the senior author of the study, told MIT News.

机械工程副教授、该研究的资深作者赵宣和告诉麻省理工学院新闻：“全世界每年有超过2.3亿例大型手术，其中许多需要缝合来缝合伤口，这实际上会对组织造成压力，导致感染、疼痛和疤痕。我们提出了一种完全不同的方法来密封组织。”

Scientists noticed how forming a tight seal between tissues is very difficult because water on the surface can make the tissue slippery. They also found that tissue glues can take several minutes to work and sometimes drip on other body parts.

科学家注意到，在组织之间形成紧密的密封是非常困难的，因为表面的水会使组织变得光滑。他们还发现，组织胶需要几分钟才能发挥作用，有时还会滴到身体的其他部位。

Spiders secrete a sticky material containing charged polysaccharides that absorbs water from the surface of its prey almost instantaneously, according to the BBC.

据英国广播公司报道，蜘蛛分泌一种含有带电多糖的粘性物质，这种物质几乎可以瞬间从猎物表面吸收水分。

What’s left is a small dry patch to which the glue can adhere.

剩下的是一小块干地，胶水可以粘在上面。

Researchers mimicked this natural “glue” by using polyacrylic acid, which is the material used in diapers to absorb water, according to MIT News.

据麻省理工学院新闻报道，研究人员用聚丙烯酸来模拟这种天然“胶水”，聚丙烯酸是尿布用来吸水的材料。

They placed it on the tape to absorb water from the wet body tissues, which they say resulted in the glue sticking quickly.

他们把它放在胶带上以吸收湿漉漉的身体组织中的水分，这样胶水很快就会粘上。

By adding gelatin or chitosan, experts determined they can make the tape hold shape for a few days or a month, depending on their needs.

通过添加明胶或壳聚糖，专家们确定他们可以根据自己的需要使胶带保持几天或一个月的形状。

Researchers tested this method on pig lungs and tracheas, two types of organs they say are challenging to repair when using sutures.

研究人员在猪的肺和气管上测试了这种方法，而这两种器官在使用缝合线时是很难修复的。

“It’s very challenging to suture soft or fragile tissues such as the lung and trachea, but with our double-sided tape, within five seconds we can easily seal them,” Yuk said, according to MIT News.

据麻省理工学院新闻报道，尤克说：“缝合软组织或脆弱组织(如肺和气管)非常困难，但用我们的双面胶带，在5秒钟内我们就可以轻松地将它们密封起来。”

Scientists say they plan to perform more tests on animals, although they admitted being several years away from trial testing in humans.

科学家们表示，他们计划在动物身上进行更多的试验，尽管他们承认，在人类身上进行试验还需要几年时间。