Natural Glue

The Wilker Laboratory at Purdue University in the USA is developing bio-adhesives from natural adhesive proteins found in shellfish like mussels, oysters and barnacles. 

Adhesives are widely used in electronics, footwear, books, cars and plywood furniture. However, these adhesives are made of toxic chemicals like formaldehyde. Materials glued with these adhesives also cannot be separated to be recycled, and end up in landfills.

The laboratory is currently characterising the adhesives used by mussels, oysters and barnacles to stick to rocks, create aggregate reef structures, and withstand sea waves and turbulence. It aims to develop biomimetic materials from the natural adhesives for a wide range of applications.

The lab, which has experimental facilities where they keep oysters and mussels in natural sea conditions, has found that the glue material between two shellfish includes soft adhesives made of complex proteins.

The lab has developed simplified polymer mimics that use adhesive components from these proteins. One of its mimics uses a molecule from corn and adhesive components from mussels, to develop a polymer adhesive that is degradable in water.

The lab has developed glues that are stronger than superglue, that work underwater unlike conventional glue, that have tunable flexibility and that can debond at predetermined times.

The lab aims to develop adhesives for biomedical applications, such as substitutes for sutures and metal plates in bone fractures; in cosmetics for eyelash and nail extensions; and to replace welding and rivets in vehicles and aircraft, which would make them lighter and more fuel efficient. It is also developing coatings to prevent marine organisms from attaching to ship hulls.

The research has been financially supported by the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research.

Feature photo by Grech Balasabas on Unsplash.