Bioadhesives are natural polymeric materials that act as adhesives. The term is sometimes used more loosely to describe a glue formed synthetically from biological monomers such as sugars, or to mean a synthetic material designed to adhere to biological tissue.
Bioadhesives may consist of a variety of substances, but proteins and carbohydrates feature prominently. Proteins such as gelatin and carbohydrates such as starch have been used as general-purpose glues by man for many years, but typically their performance shortcomings have seen them replaced by synthetic alternatives. Highly effective adhesives found in the natural world are currently under investigation. For example, bioadhesives secreted by microbes and by marine molluscs and crustaceans are being researched with a view to biomimicry. Furthermore, thiolation of proteins and carbohydrates enables these polymers (thiomers) to covalently adhere especially to cysteine-rich subdomains of proteins such as keratins or mucus glycoproteins via disulfide bond formation. Thiolated chitosan and thiolated hyaluronic acid are used as bioadhesives in various medicinal products.