NTU Singapore scientists develop “biorubber” glue for faster surgical recovery and pain relief – Associate Professor Terry Steele

We are pleased to share the research achievement of Associate Professor Terry Steele and his team, which has been featured in various media including Singapore Tonight (CNA), Channel 8 News and others. The links to the video footages are available at the bottom of the page.

NTU Singapore scientists have invented a new type of surgical glue that can help join blood vessels and close wounds faster and may also serve as a platform to deliver pain relief drugs. Invented by Assoc Prof Terry Steele and Senior Research Fellow Dr Ivan Djordjevic from the NTU School of Materials Science and Engineering, CaproGlu combines two ingredients into a single-component formulation that does not require additives. It is activated by a low dose of ultraviolet (UV) light that cures it in seconds, turning it from a liquid glue into a solid but flexible biorubber – a biocompatible material that can be resorbed by the tissue after a few weeks. In a paper published in Elsevier’s Biomaterials in July jointly with clinicians from Singapore General Hospital, the NTU researchers showed that their glue can bond soft tissues including muscle and blood vessels, even when their surfaces are wet. The biorubber glue innovation took the research team five years to develop and is the subject of a provisional patent filed through NTUitive, the university’s innovation and enterprise company.  Moving forward, the joint team will be looking to conduct further animal experiments and to assess the performance of CaproGlu in other applications, such as on bone and other organic surfaces.

The research article published in Biomaterials, with the title “CaproGlu: Multifunctional tissue adhesive platform”, can be found via this link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.120215


Dr Ivan Djordjevic (left) and Assoc Prof Terry Steele demonstrate their CaproGlu. Photo: NTU

Our heartiest congratulations to Prof Steele and his team on their excellent achievement!

Media Coverage:
Lianhe Zaobao, page 11
Singapore Tonight, CNA, 20 Aug 2020, 10pm (video)
New Atlas, 20 Aug 2020
Tech Explorist, 20 Aug 2020
World News Monitor, 20 Aug 2020
Yahoo News, 20 Aug 2020 (video)
MSN, 20 Aug 2020 (video)
The Engineer, 21 Aug 2020
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Live 24,  22 Aug 2020
Special Chem, 24 Aug 2020