# The Effect of Silk Fibroin Additive on the Properties of Tannic Acid‐Based Bioadhesives

## TL;DR

This study explores how adding silk fibroin to a tannic acid-based adhesive improves its mechanical and biological properties for biomedical uses like wound healing.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is the systematic evaluation of silk fibroin's effect on a tannic acid-based adhesive's performance and biocompatibility.

## Key findings

- Adding silk fibroin increases adhesion strength and reduces swelling and degradation rates.
- The adhesive shows strong hydrogen bonding and a porous structure, with good biocompatibility and antibacterial properties.
- The adhesive is a promising candidate for tissue engineering and wound healing applications.

## Abstract

Hydrogel adhesives have attracted significant attention for diverse biomedical applications, including tissue engineering, wound dressings, crack propagation prevention, and hemorrhage control. In this study, a tissue adhesive composed of polyethylene glycol, tannic acid, and gelatin, with different concentrations of silk fibroin (SF), was synthesized and systematically evaluated using fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), adhesion strength tests, swelling and degradation analysis, cytotoxicity and proliferation studies and antibacterial assays. Structural analysis confirmed the presence of strong hydrogen bonds among the components, while SEM imaging revealed a porous morphology for all samples. Mechanical testing demonstrated that the incorporation of SF additive significantly influenced the adhesion strength of the hydrogels. Furthermore, an increase in SF content led to a significant reduction in swelling capacity and degradation rate. The adhesive samples exhibited excellent biocompatibility, and antibacterial assays indicated that the SF additive maintained antibacterial efficacy comparable to the samples without the additive. These findings highlight the synthesized tissue adhesive as a promising candidate with favorable mechanical and biological properties for potential clinical applications in tissue engineering and wound healing.

Hydrogel adhesive composed of polyethylene glycol (PEG), tannic acid (TA), gelatin, and silk fibroin additive, with good physical, mechanical, and biological properties, can be used in tissue engineering, wound dressing, and bleeding control.© 2026 WILEY‐VCH GmbH