A new study introduces an improved method of laser tissue soldering, using a protein paste to seal wounds. This offers a fast, strong, and clinically scalable method for suture-free wound repair. This is a promising tissue bonding technique in which a solder is applied between the tissues and then irradiated by a laser, causing it to solidify and form links with the tissue.
Laser tissue soldering (LTS) is a promising stitch-free method for wound closure, but until now, its clinical adoption has been limited by weak bonding strength and long procedure times. A new study introduces a laser-based method to seal wounds without stitches, combining proteins and synthetic materials to create stronger bonds and using nanoparticles to speed up the process.
The technology is a type of surgical technique that uses laser energy to solidify a protein-based solder applied between tissue surfaces, creating a strong, watertight bond. Advantages include small wound gaps, a decrease in inflammation, the absence of microcirculatory disorders and an earlier epithelization of laser welds.
Real-time imaging ensures precise results, tested successfully on animal tissues, offering a promising alternative to traditional wound closure techniques.
The study, led by a team from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra in Ranchi, India, is titled “Improved Ex‐Vivo Bond Quality Monitoring of Plasmonic Metal Oxide Biomaterials Mediated Laser Tissue Soldering Process Using Fast Noninvasive Optical Tomographic Imaging.”
The findings have been published in the journal Lasers in Surgery and Medicine (LSM), the official journal of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, Inc. (ASLMS).
“Traditional wound closure methods like sutures and staples often come with risks of infection, scarring, or prolonged healing. We engineered a laser-driven method using polyethylene glycol-reinforced proteins and plasmonic nanoparticles to boost tissue bond strength by up to 28% and reduce sealing time by 33%,” the team state in the paper.
“Integrated real-time imaging using Optical Coherence Tomography ensures precision, offering a suture-free, rapid solution for surgeries where strength and minimal scarring are critical.”
This method combines bovine serum albumin (BSA) with polyethylene glycol (PEG) for improved mechanical strength and incorporates silver (AgNP) and titanium dioxide (TiNP) nanoparticles to accelerate the process via localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR).
Overall, the integration of PEG, plasmonic nanoparticles, and OCT-based monitoring significantly improved LTS performance, offering a fast, strong, and clinically scalable method for suture-free wound repair.
The team from the Department of Bioengineering and Biotechnology at Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, includes doctoral candidate Sweta Satpathy, PhD student Abhishek Banerjee, Junior Research Fellow Ishita Banerjee, and Associate Professor Dr. Raju Poddar.
