A scientific team created an adhesive soluble in water and with potential health applications which is inspired by the proteins that mussels use to attach to sea rocks.
This work is part of an international project co-directed by the Institute of Nanosciences and Aragon Materials (INMA)joint center of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and the University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR).
The description of this adhesive tested on animal tissues was published in the scientific journal Advanced functional materials.
The extraordinary ability of mussels to attach themselves to rocks in such a way aquatic environment for long periods, this is what inspired the group of scientists, who managed to develop a water-soluble adhesive, which limits its environmental impact and has potential applications for health.
The main objective of the work was to develop new biomimetic adhesives, that is, synthetic materials reproduced in the laboratory that imitate physical or chemical structures found in nature, for applications in medicine as surgical glue.
The idea was to replace more invasive suturing procedures, thereby improving patient recovery and minimizing the risk of infection.
The tests carried out successfully bonded the pigskin with a force similar to that from Tisseel, a commercial surgical adhesive, reports a press release from the CSIC.
These results are also relevant for creating commonly used but more durable adhesives, because, by using water as a dispersing agent instead of chemical solvents, It is less toxic and pollutes less, describes Alexandre Lancelot, from INMA and first author of the article.
Lancelot explains that, to attach to rocks, mussels use proteins that contain the amino acid L-DOPA, where the catechol group, a chemical molecule, is primarily responsible for adhesion.
“By imitating the structures of these proteins, we joined the group of catechols with other polymers, obtaining an adhesive with satisfactory behavior on aluminum,” explains the scientist, who adds that he is already working on other advanced to be able to file a patent.
The work was carried out in collaboration with Jonathan Wilker, from Purdue University (United States), and is funded by the European Union through a Marie Skłodovska-Curie research grant.
