mediGLUE

During the research work on the BMBF project "mediNiK", further adhesive formulations were discovered at the Fraunhofer IFAM in Bremen, which have great potential for applications in other medical areas. In the follow-up project "mediGLUE", also funded by the BMBF in the GO-Bio funding initiative, Purenum GmbH is continuing basic research work.

In 2015, 29,000 people in German hospitals underwent surgery for a multiple fracture in the shaft bone of a long tubular bone. 33,000 people were also treated for a multiple fracture of small bones and 205,000 patients for a multiple fracture in the joint area of a long tubular bone using osteosynthesis, i.e. the use of nails, plates, screws. This osteosynthesis material, however, has to be surgically removed to a large extent. This year, 175,000 operations have been performed to remove these implants alone. A reduction in the use of classical osteosynthesis material (which does not have to be removed later) results in significant cost, time and risk avoidance for patients, doctors and health insurance companies.

For this reason, the BMBF project mediGLUE is looking for adhesives that can serve as a substitute for the osteosynthesis material. In this context, the high requirements are the main reason why the development of such an adhesive is difficult. For this purpose, research is being conducted on synthetic and biological systems.