Chemists Crack Secrets of Mussels' Super Glue

Roland Piquepaille writes "Researchers from Purdue University working under an award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) 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." This overview contains 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."

so what?

[zasos]

I guess because "mussel glues present the first identified case in which transition metals are essential to the formation of a non crystalline biological material" it is interesting science... but why whoud we care?...
I hate these press releases that don't give any specifics (e.g., strength in MPa) nor do they provide larger picture of why would we care...
oh, well, good for mussels any way... they are tasty...

More permanence may not be best

[addie]

You know, with this development, and all the recent talk about gecko super-tape being developed... it makes me feel a little uncomfortable. We're developing products that make structures, installations etc. more and more permanent.

We all talk about expanding recycling programs, and cutting down on fossil fuels, but then build structures that have such highly developed components, they can never be re-used or perhaps even dismantled (without disintegration, probably releasing even more agents into the biosphere).

Now don't get me wrong, with the right regulation and foresight, these kind of developments can be true breakthroughs. But forging ahead without considering whether an invention can be dismantled or reduced to its original components is not good engineering these days.

But hell, my field is ancient history, what do I know...

synthesis is a sticky situation

[Anonymous Coward]

actually, research has been conducted on mussels like these for at least the past 15 years. scientists were having horrible trouble producing this adhesive on their own, and could only get something remotely close by crushing thousands of mussels and extracting the adhesive from them, and still the glue would wear off sooner than expected.
the discovery that iron contributes to the chemical structure will perhaps expedite the process of simulation and production, but there's still a long way to go. as technologically advanced as we are, we know hardly anything about how to build things on a molecular level, and even if we finally observe the chemical makeup of this glue, i believe production technology will be holding back synthesis.

Re:More permanence may not be best

[addie]

You obviously didn't read my "don't get me wrong" paragraph. There is such a thing as sustainable development, but we tend to learn how to do a thing much quicker than how to do it safely. I'm not saying we shouldn't develop these kinds of technologies, but simply that we need to fully consider the ramifications of such permanent ideas on future generations.

Or are you more of a living in the now kind of guy?

Great, now all we need ...

[torpor]

... is someone to produce a super-mussel in its own shimmering vat, just pumping the stuff out for us to make our own spacecraft hulls with.

Should be easy.

What would be interesting is a genetically mutated mussel for ships which a) roams around sealing cracks, and b) kills all other non super-mussel mussels from the hull.

Maybe a super ship fixing mussel with frickin' lazers on its valves? That'd rock.

But anyway, I'm serious about the shipfixing idea. Why can't we work -with- nature instead of against it all the time, why oh why?

Re:More permanence may not be best

[axolotl_farmer]

You have to consider what you mean by permanent:

A protein based glue that sticks to everything but is biodegradable, or a polymer based one that doesn't stick as good and lasts until the sun goes nova.

Permanence, but only for a while

[dexter riley]

If I understand correctly, the ultimate goal of these studies is materials capable of "transient permanence". We could have a glue that would hold indefinitely, but releases its grip when you add a particular molecule that unties the connections. Or gecko tape that sticks with amazing tenacity, until an electric field is applied to the tape, causing the microscopic gripping "feet" to release. Or even plastics that don't exude organic volatiles, that are sturdy but can be converted to a recastable form upon command.

Industry has already made superstable substances (like dioxins or CFCs), but by looking to biology for inspiration, we may be able to make substances whose long-term stability will reduce waste, while allowing a graceful dismantling when their usefulness has been outlived.