Mussel protein crosslinking agent
Senior Associate RobertBradbury writes "Eurekalert has a story about scientists at Purdue who are starting to unravel how mussels can stick to almost anything. It appears that iron is used as an essential crosslinking agent between the protein(s) in the adhesive. The common crosslinking agent in proteins is sulfur but the bonds may be weaker than those that iron provides. This may give nanotechnology oriented chemists an additional strategy for producing cross-linked polymers to develop Stages 2 & 3 of one nanotechnology development path as discussed by Drexler in Table 16.1 of Nanosystems."
January 13th, 2004 at 8:09 AM
Chemists Crack Secrets of Mussels' Super Glue
I also commented on my blog about this discovery, but it goes further than nanotechnology. In fact, the researchers from Purdue University have discovered that common blue mussels are using iron found in seawater to create their own super glue. "In addition to using the knowledge to develop safer alternatives for surgical and household glues, the researchers are looking at how to combat the glue to prevent damage to shipping vessels and the accidental transport of invasive species, such as the zebra mussel that has ravaged the midwestern United States." On my blog, you'll find more details and references about this discovery. You'll also find an image of mussel glue at a magnification of 25,000X and one of a mussel adhering to a sheet of Teflon.