One-pot hydrothermal synthesis of a soy protein-derived polymer dot nanoglue with synergistic tissue adhesion and light-responsive redox regulation for promoting wound healing.

Tissue reinforcement and wound-healing bioglues with intrinsic therapeutic functionality remain a significant challenge and are absent from current commercial options. Developing such materials from biomass-derived sources is even more difficult due to their limited chemical functionality, which is desirable for optimal adhesion, cohesion, antibiotic-free sterilisation, and inherent wound-healing capacity. Here, we report the synthesis of a soy protein isolate (SPI) based nanoglue, a highly bioactive peptide derived from agricultural biomass with structural similarity to human tissue, and glyoxal, another biomass-derived compound. An in situ, one-pot hydrothermal crosslinked polymerisation (HTCP) process with SPI and glyoxal in water yields a carbonised polymer dot (SPI-CPD) nanoglue with a distinct core-shell architecture. The SPI-CPD nanoglue not only is designed as a sustainable passive dressing with good adhesive strength (1.47 MPa) when tested in porcine skin, but also responds to mechanical and oxidative stress through adaptive biological cues. Notably, the self-healing nanoglue regulates reactive oxygen species (ROS), exhibiting rapid photobactericidal activity under visible light (23 W LED) irradiation supported via peroxidase (POD) functions, which can be modulated in the dark, to ROS-scavenging activity, including catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). This on-demand redox-regulating behavior was validated through intracellular assays using human keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells, demonstrating its function as a light-responsive therapeutic platform. Importantly, the nanoglue releases bioactive nanomaterials that enhance cell viability and promote proliferation under both normal and hyperglycaemic conditions. Overall, this cost-effective, multifunctional nanoglue design highlights a promising pathway toward industrially scalable, yet sustainable biomass-derived bioadhesive nanotherapeutics.