A slender film made from crab-shell extract could bring an end to the use of sutures for sealing surgical incisions and wounds associated with penetrating eye-injuries.

Early test results reveal that the technology also has excellent potential for use in brain and nerve surgery where sutures sometimes fail and act as a source of bacterial infections.

Developed by University of NSW medical scientists, the green-coloured polymer, known as SurgiLux^TM, is biodegradable and has antibacterial properties.

Using the technology is simple and effective. Doctors apply SurgiLux^TM to an incision or wound then heat it with an infrared laser, causing it to bond to the surrounding tissue and seal the wound.

Surgical sutures date back some 4,000 years, so a new approach is long overdue, according to John Foster, a co-inventor of the technology who leads the UNSW Biopolymer Research Group.

"A range of surgical glues have been developed as alternatives to sutures but they suffer from several disadvantages, including leakage, poor bonding and toxicity," Dr Foster says.

"Some glue technologies rely upon ultra-violet for wound bonding but aren’t really suitable because UV-rays damage living cells.

“The beauty of SurgiLux^TM is that an infrared laser doesn't cause tissue damage,” says Foster. “Better still, it has inherent anti-microbial properties, which discourages post-operative infections.”

Foster is collaborating with eye surgeon Dr Stephanie Watson, who is pioneering the use of stem cell-coated contact lenses to restore sight to sufferers of blinding corneal disease.

"SurgiLux^TM is well suited to eye surgery as sutures can induce astigmatism and scarring that interferes with vision,” says Dr Watson of Sydney’s Prince of Wales Hospital.

“Furthermore, suturing is an acquired technical skill so there will always be variation between surgeons that affects the quality of wound healing.

“SurgiLux^TM eliminates that variation and presents an opportunity to improve or restore eyesight while reducing some side-effects of eye surgery.”

The antibacterial properties of SurgiLux^TM are a distinct advantage too. Bacterial infections associated with some eye injuries and associated surgical procedures can result in loss of vision. For example, bacterial endopthalmitis, affects up to seven per cent of people suffering penetrating eye injuries, and between four and 10 patients per thousand corneal grafts.

NewSouth Innovations (NSi), UNSW's commercialisation organisation, manages and owns the intellectual property concerning the use and design of SurgiLux^TM.

The global market for tissue sealants in 2008 was estimated at US$460 million, with an eight percent annual compound growth rate.

"NSi and the inventors of SurgiLux^TM are seeking partners to clinically and commercially develop this proprietary technology," says NSi Business Development Manager, Dr Alfredo Martinez-Coll. "The nature of the investment would be through collaborative research and/or a licence deal."

Research and development is progressing on a second-generation version of SurgiLux^TM, which incorporates growth factors and perhaps stem cells to regenerate tissues.

Associate Professor John Foster heads UNSW's Biopolymer Research Group, which focuses on the production, characterisation and potential applications of novel biopolymers in medical and environmental areas. He researches the development and degradation of biopolymer-based materials, and their applications as bioplastics, anti-fouling coatings and proactive scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Dr Stephanie Watson is an ophthalmologist at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney and a conjoint senior lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of New South Wales. Her pioneering use of stem cell-coated contact lenses is helping to restore sight to sufferers of blinding corneal disease. See a video of her work at UNSWTV http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYDSPFuWFDM

Media enquiries: Dan Gaffney, UNSW, 0411 156 015 or dan.gaffney@nsinnovations.com.au

Commercialisation enquiries: Alfredo Martinez-Coll, NSi, 0402 011 223 or a.martinez-coll@nsinnovations.com.au