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Phoenix666 writes:

An adhesive that works under water and is modeled after those created by shellfish to stick to surfaces is stronger than many commercial glues created for the purpose.

"Our current adhesives are terrible at wet bonding, yet marine biology solved this problem eons ago," said Jonathan Wilker, a professor of chemistry and materials engineering at Purdue University. "Mussels, barnacles, and oysters attach to rocks with apparent ease. In order to develop new materials able to bind within harsh environments, we made a bio-mimetic polymer that is modeled after the adhesive proteins of mussels."

New findings showed that the bio-based glue performed better than 10 commercial adhesives when used to bond polished aluminum. When compared with the five strongest commercial glues included in the study, the new adhesive performed better when bonding wood, Teflon and polished aluminum. It was the only adhesive of those tested that worked with wood and far out-performed the other adhesives when used to join Teflon.

Findings are detailed in a research paper published online in February and in the March 1 print issue of the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.

Mussels extend hair-like fibers that attach to surfaces using plaques of adhesive. Proteins in the glue contain the amino acid DOPA, which harbors the chemistry needed to provide strength and adhesion. Purdue researchers have now inserted this chemistry of mussel proteins into a biomimetic polymer called poly(catechol-styrene), creating an adhesive by harnessing the chemistry of compounds called catechols, which are contained in DOPA.

Michael A. North et al. High Strength Underwater Bonding with Polymer Mimics of Mussel Adhesive Proteins, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2017). DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b00270

Original Submission