13316 Mini Glue Gun

Comes with three sticks of special formula hot melt glue. UL approved. 110V 60 Hz only. Shipping weight: 1 lb. (0.5 kg)

Scotch-Weld 2216 Structural Epoxy

Probably still the best epoxy for bonding plastic, often used as the benchmark for testing the binding strength of other adhesives. The slightly rubbery texture also makes it less easy to break off. It is the only epoxy known that can bond PEEK. Colour: grey. Cures at room temperature.

Vetbond™ Tissue Adhesive

Provides a fast, convenient way to seal and protect wounds. Specifically designed for veterinary use, this adhesive is low in toxicity and excellent for quick repair of small wounds. 3 ml bottle comes with two dispenser nozzles.

Superglue for Life Science Research

The main ingredient of Super Glue is cyanoacrylate. When exposed to moisture or alkaline sites on the surface, it polymerizes to form a bond. Super Glue has been on the market since 1958. Most industrial or household grade\ cyanoacrylate is shorter alkyl chain derivatives such as methyl or ethyl cyanoacrylate (WPI’s #7341 and #7342). They offer both strong bonding and economical price. They are very useful for temporarily holding tissues such as mounting specimens for microtome sectioning. However, they are not suitable for bonding wounds on live animals. The difficulties of using cyanoacrylate for bonding live animals are: (1) a strong irritating odour; (2) quick loss of bonding strength due to breakdown of the bonding by hydration; (3) the breakdown products, cyanoacetate and formaldehyde, are toxic and can cause inflammatory reactions; and (4) they have low flexibility and tend to be brittle. To overcome these problems, several longer alkyl chain cyanoacrylates have been developed specially for veterinary and human use. The first longer alkyl chain product is butyl cyanoacrylate. This product has been used for animal and human applications outside the USA since 1970. It is much less toxic and has a lower odour than the methyl or ethyl cyanoacrylate. The butyl cyanoacrylate that WPI offers is called Vetbond™.

A family of super glues containing octyl cyanoacrylate, a plasticizer and stabilizer, was developed In the 1990’s (one of them approved by FDA for human use). When bonding to tissue, these new adhesives are four times stronger and less toxic than butyl cyanoacrylate. Compared with the traditional suture, the new super glue has several advantages.

On average, it takes only one-tenth of the time to close an incision. The bonding strength is equal to 5-0 monofilament suture. It also has a mysterious antimicrobial effect that can decrease infection rates in contaminated wounds. Bonding will slough off naturally in 5 to 7 days. Cosmetic appearance of the healed incision is also better. Octal cyanoacrylate adhesive #500280 forms a strong and flexible film and is thus more suitable for surface wound bonding, protection, and holding a sensor or other device on the tissue. Setting time is about 10 seconds, which gives ample time for application. It can also be used for temporarily holding a live tissue. For example, there is a report of using it to hold nematodes on a glass slide for patch-clamp neurons recording. All of the products offered by WPI are veterinary grade (not suitable for human application). Though very similar to the grade for human use, they are not sterile and do not have FDA approval.