A fast-drying adhesive (like super glue) that hardens instantly when exposed to moisture, containing a cyanide group bonded to an acrylate compound.
From cyano- + acrylate (derived from acrylic acid). First synthesized in the 1950s and commercialized as a medical adhesive and consumer super glue.
Super glue's chemistry is wild—the cyanoacrylate molecule is actually unstable and waiting to react with even tiny amounts of water. When it touches the moisture on your fingers, it polymerizes instantly into a rock-solid plastic, which is why it bonds skin so dangerously fast.
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