Editing Cyanoacrylate (section)

==General uses==

Cyanoacrylate is a tenacious adhesive, particularly when used to bond non-porous materials or those that contain minute traces of water. It is also very good at bonding body tissue, and while this can be a bothersome (or even dangerous) side effect during everyday use, it has been exploited for the benefit of suture-less surgery.

Cyanoacrylate glue has a low shearing strength, which has also led to its use as a temporary adhesive in cases where the piece can easily be sheared off at a later time. Common examples include mounting a workpiece to a sacrificial glue block on a lathe and also tightening pins and bolts.

Cyanoacrylates are often used to assemble prototype electronics (see wire wrap), flying model aircraft, and as retention dressings for nuts and bolts. Their effectiveness in bonding metal and general versatility have also made them popular amongst modeling and miniatures hobbyists. They are used to re-harden the boxes and shanks of ballerinas' pointe shoes as well.

Cyanoacrylate glue's ability to resist water has made it popular with marine aquarium hobbyists for fragging corals. The cut branches of hard corals such as Acropora can be glued to a piece of live rock or Milliput substrate to allow the new frag to grow out.

Standard cyanoacrylate adhesive is not recommended for use with glass, although there are special formulations which are more suitable. However it may be used in conjunction with glass fibre mat or tissue to reinforce joints or to fabricate small parts, reinforcing pins may also be cut from solid fibreglass rod.

When added to baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), cyanoacrylate glue forms a hard, lightweight filler/adhesive (baking soda is first used to fill a gap then the adhesive is dripped into the baking soda). This works well with porous materials that the glue doesn't work well with alone. This method is sometimes used by aircraft modelers to assemble or repair polystyrene foam parts. Note that the reaction between cyanoacrylate and baking soda is very exothermic (heat producing) and also produces noxious vapors.

One non-adhesive use for cyanoacrylate is as a forensic tool. Fumes from warmed CA can develop latent fingerprints on non-porous surfaces like glass, plastic, etc. The invisible fingerprint residues react with the CA fumes and atmospheric moisture to form a white polymer (polycyanoacrylate) on the fingerprint ridges and can then be recorded. The developed fingerprints are, on most surfaces (except on white plastic or similar), visible to the naked eye. Non-visible or poorly visible prints can be furthermore enhanced by applying a luminescent or non-luminescent stain.

Thin CA glue is also used as a wood finish, particularly among woodturners. Its fast drying time and glossy finish make it ideal for small applications which generally look best when glossy (such as pens), although it is messy and somewhat expensive. A common mistake made by novice users is to use an accelerator, which can cloud and thus ruin the finish.

Some rock climbers use cyanoacrylate to repair damage to the skin on their fingertips. Similarly, stringed-instrument players can form protective finger caps (in addition to callouses) with cyanoacrylates. Acetone (nail polish remover) removes it.

Superglue was in veterinarian use for mending bone, hide, and tortise shell by at least the early 1970s. The inventor of cyanoacrylates, Harry Coover, said in 1966 that a superglue spray was used in the Vietnam war to retard bleeding in the wounded, whilst they were being transported to hospital. As it can irritate the skin, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did not approve superglue's civilian medical use until 1998 when a variant called 2-octyl-cyanoacrylate was developed. The latest generation of 2-octyl cyanoacrylates, such as SurgiSeal, have greater tensile strength, greater moisture and oxygen transmission to the wound, and do not require a catalyst/initiator. Superglue's use in the Vietnam War is referenced in the film Dog Soldiers.

Some glues, e.g. Super glue and Krazy glue, are believed to be 100% ethyl cyanoacrylate. Other glues may be a composition, e.g. 91% ECA, 9% poly(methyl methacrylate), <0.5% hydroquinone, and a small amount of organic sulfonic acid.