A Natural Biological Adhesive from Snail Mucus for Wound Repair

The discovery of the natural adhesion phenomena and mechanisms has advanced the information and development of a new generation of tissue adhesives in recent decades. In this study, we developed a natural biological adhesive from snail mucus consisting of a positively charged protein network and a polyanionic glycosaminoglycan network. The malleable bulk adhesive matrix could adhere to wet tissue through multiple interactions. The biomaterial exhibited excellent hemostatic and tissue adhesion properties in vitro and in vivo, and was also effective in accelerating the healing of full-thickness skin wounds in both normal and diabetic rats. The natural biomaterial effectively promoted the polarization of macrophages toward the anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype, alleviated inflammation in chronic wounds, and significantly improved epithelial regeneration and angiogenesis. Its abundant heparin-like glycosaminoglycan component was indispensable. These findings provide theoretical and material insights into bio-inspired tissue adhesives and bioengineered scaffold designs. Overall design: RNA sequencing was performed in four groups diabetic rats to evaluate the chronic wound healing ability