| “Cyanoacrylate” Adhesives for Life Science Research |
 Cyanoacrylate adhesives have been on the market since 1958. Most industrial or household grade cyanoacrylate is made of shorter alkyl chain derivatives such as methyl or ethyl cyanoacrylate (WPI’s #7341 and #7342). They are very useful for temporarily holding tissues such as mounting specimens for microtome sectioning. However, they are not suitable for bonding wounds on live animals. The difficulties of using cyanoacrylate for bonding live animals are: (1) a strong, irritating odor; (2) quick loss of bonding strength due to breakdown of the bonding by hydration; (3) the breakdown products, cyanoacetate and formaldehyde, are toxic and can cause inflammatory reactions; and (4) they have low flexibility and tend to be brittle.To overcome these problems, several longer alkyl chain cyanoacrylates have been developed especially for veterinary and human use. The first longer alkyl chain product is butyl cyanoacrylate. This product has been used for animal and human applications outside the USA since 1970. It is much less toxic and has a lower odor than the methyl or ethyl cyanoacrylate. The butyl cyanoacrylate offered by WPI is Vetbond™. A family of adhesives containing octyl cyanoacrylate, a plasticizer and stabilizer, was developed In the 1990’s (one of them approved by FDA for human use). When bonding to tissue, these new adhesives are four times stronger and less toxic than butyl cyanoacrylate. Compared with the traditional suture, the new super adhesive has several advantages. On average, it takes only one-tenth of the time to close an incision. The bonding strength is equal to 5-0 monofilament suture. It also has a mysterious antimicrobial effect that can decrease infection rates in contaminated wounds. Bonding will slough off naturally in 5 to 7 days. Cosmetic appearance of the healed incision is also better. Octal cyanoacrylate adhesive #500280 forms a strong and flexible film and is thus more suitable for surface wound bonding, protection, and holding a sensor or other device on the tissue. Setting time is about 10 seconds, which gives ample time for application. It can also be used for temporarily holding a live tissue. For example, there is a report of using it to hold nematodes on a glass slide for patch-clamp neurons recording. All of the products offered by WPI are veterinary grade (not suitable for human application). Though very similar to the grade for human use, they are not sterile and do not have FDA approval.On average, it takes only one-tenth of the time to close an incision. The bonding strength is equal to 5-0 monofilament suture. It also has a mysterious antimicrobial effect that can decrease infection rates in contaminated wounds. Bonding will slough off naturally in 5 to 7 days. Cosmetic appearance of the healed incision is also better. Octal cyanoacrylate adhesive #500280 forms a strong and flexible film and is thus more suitable for surface wound bonding, protection, and holding a sensor or other device on the tissue. Setting time is about 10 seconds, which gives ample time for application. It can also be used for temporarily holding a live tissue. For example, there is a report of using it to hold nematodes on a glass slide for patch-clamp neurons recording. All of the products offered by WPI are veterinary grade (not suitable for human application). Though very similar to the grade for human use, they are not sterile and do not have FDA approval. |
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500280 Octyl cyanoacrylate adhesive, 1.5 mg US$44  |
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7341 Cyanoacrylate adhesive, low viscosity—90-120 cps (pkg of 10) US$30 |
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7342 Cyanoacrylate adhesive, high viscosity—1100-1600 cps (pkg of 10) US$30 |
| VETBOND 3M Vetbond™ Adhesive (3 ml) |
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