The bonding components, also known as binding agents, in physically hardening, solvent-based adhesives are distributed in an organic solvent. When the solvent evaporates, the adhesive transforms from a liquid to a solid - just the pure bonding ingredient remains.

Solvent-based adhesives are common in the packaging, tape, and medical sectors. These adhesives are particularly popular due to their great resilience to a variety of environmental variables and their appropriateness for a variety of substrates. Solvent-based adhesives are suitable for both porous and non-porous surfaces, and they produce strong adhesion once the liquid has dried, leaving just the bonding agent behind.

They are also more easily applied to surfaces than many other forms of water-based adhesives. This is why solvent-based adhesives are employed in sectors as diverse as automotive, food packaging, and graphics. Furthermore, the solvents impact critical adhesive qualities such as adherence by encouraging substrate wetting or by biting the substrate surface, or dwell time and open time, depending on how quickly they evaporate.