{"id":25691,"date":"2025-02-21T12:44:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T06:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/?p=25691"},"modified":"2025-02-21T12:44:32","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T06:59:32","slug":"engineers-turn-the-bodys-goo-into-new-glue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/engineers-turn-the-bodys-goo-into-new-glue\/","title":{"rendered":"Engineers turn the body\u2019s goo into new glue"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

They combined a blend of slimy and sticky proteins to produce a fast-acting, bacteria-blocking, waterproof adhesive for use in biomedical  applications.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Jennifer Chu<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Within the animal kingdom, mussels are masters of underwater adhesion. The marine mollusks cluster atop rocks and along the bottoms of ships, and hold fast against the ocean\u2019s waves thanks to a gluey plaque they secrete through their foot. These tenacious adhesive structures have prompted scientists in recent years to design similar bioinspired, waterproof adhesives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now engineers from MIT and Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin have developed a new type of glue that combines the waterproof stickiness of the mussels\u2019 plaques with the germ-proof properties of another natural material: mucus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every surface in our bodies not covered in skin is lined with a protective layer of mucus \u2014 a slimy network of proteins that acts as a physical barrier against bacteria and other infectious agents. In their new work, the engineers combined sticky, mussel-inspired polymers with mucus-derived proteins, or mucins, to form a gel that strongly adheres to surfaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new mucus-derived glue prevented the buildup of bacteria while keeping its sticky hold, even on wet surfaces. The researchers envision that once the glue\u2019s properties are optimized, it could be applied as a liquid by injection or spray, which would then solidify into a sticky gel. The material might be used to coat medical implants, for example, to prevent infection and bacteria buildup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team\u2019s new glue-making approach could also be adjusted to incorporate other natural materials, such as keratin \u2014 a fibrous substance found in feathers and hair, with certain chemical features resembling those of mucus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe applications of our materials design approach will depend on the specific precursor materials,\u201d says George Degen, a postdoc in MIT\u2019s Department of Mechanical Engineering. \u201cFor example, mucus-derived or mucus-inspired materials might be used as multifunctional biomedical adhesives that also prevent infections. Alternatively, applying our approach to keratin might enable development of sustainable packaging materials.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A paper detailing the team\u2019s results appears this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em>. Degen\u2019s MIT co-authors include Corey Stevens, Gerardo C\u00e1rcamo-Oyarce, Jake Song, Katharina Ribbeck, and Gareth McKinley, along with Raju Bej, Peng Tang, and Rainer Haag of Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sticky combination<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before coming to MIT, Degen was a graduate student at the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he worked in a research group that studied the adhesive mechanisms of mussels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMussels are able to deposit materials that adhere to wet surfaces in seconds to minutes,\u201d Degen says. \u201cThese natural materials do better than existing commercialized adhesives, specifically at sticking to wet and underwater surfaces, which has been a longstanding technical challenge.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To stick to a rock or a ship, mussels secrete a protein-rich fluid. Chemical bonds, or cross-links, act as connection points between proteins, enabling the secreted substance to simultaneously solidify into a gel and stick to a wet surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it happens, similar cross-linking features are found in mucin \u2014 a large protein that is the primary non-water component of mucus. When Degen came to MIT, he worked with both McKinley, a professor of mechanical engineering and an expert in materials science and fluid flow, and Katharina Ribbeck, a professor of biological engineering and a leader in the study of mucus, to develop a cross-linking glue that would combine the adhesive qualities of mussel plaques with the bacteria-blocking properties of mucus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mixing links<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MIT researchers teamed up with Haag and colleagues in Berlin who specialize in synthesizing bioinspired materials. Haag and Ribbeck are members of a collaborative research group that develops dynamic hydrogels for biointerfaces. Haag\u2019s group has made mussel-like adhesives, as well as mucus-inspired liquids by producing microscopic, fiber-like polymers that are similar in structure to the natural mucin proteins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For their new work, the researchers focused on a chemical motif that appears in mussel adhesives: a bond between two chemical groups known as \u201ccatechols\u201d and \u201cthiols.\u201d In the mussel\u2019s natural glue, or plaque, these groups combine to form catechol\u2013thiol cross-links that contribute to the cohesive strength of the plaque. Catechols also enhance a mussel\u2019s adhesion by binding to surfaces such as rocks and ship hulls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, thiol groups are also prevalent in mucin proteins. Degen wondered whether mussel-inspired polymers could link with mucin thiols, enabling the mucins to quickly turn from a liquid to a sticky gel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To test this idea, he combined solutions of natural mucin proteins with synthetic mussel-inspired polymers and observed how the resulting mixture solified and stuck to surfaces over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a two-part epoxy. You combine two liquids together, and chemistry starts to occur so that the liquid solifidies while the substance is simultaneously glueing itself to the surface,\u201d Degen says.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDepending on how much cross-linking you have, we can control the speed at which the liquids gelate and adhere,\u201d Haag adds. \u201cWe can do this all on wet surfaces, at room temperature, and under very mild conditions. This is what is quite unique.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team deposited a range of compositions between two surfaces and found that the resulting adhesive held the surfaces together, with forces comparable to the commercial medical adhesives used for bonding tissue. The researchers also tested the adhesive\u2019s bacteria-blocking properties by depositing the gel onto glass surfaces and incubating them with bacteria overnight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe found if we had a bare glass surface without our coating, the bacteria formed a thick biofilm, whereas with our coating, biofilms were largely prevented,\u201d Degen notes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team says that with a bit of tuning, they can further improve the adhesive\u2019s hold. Then, the material could be a strong and protective alternative to existing medical adhesives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are excited to have established a biomaterials design platform that gives us these desirable properties of gelation and adhesion, and as a starting point we\u2019ve demonstrated some key biomedical applications,\u201d Degen says. \u201cWe are now ready to expand into different synthetic and natural systems and target different applications.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This research was funded, in part, by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Army Research Office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They combined a blend of slimy and sticky proteins to produce a fast-acting, bacteria-blocking, waterproof adhesive for use in biomedical  applications. CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Within the animal kingdom, mussels are masters of underwater adhesion. The marine mollusks cluster atop rocks and along the bottoms of ships, and hold fast against the ocean\u2019s waves thanks to a gluey […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-innovation","category-research"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS.jpg",900,600,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS-200x200.jpg",200,200,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS-600x400.jpg",600,400,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS-768x512.jpg",750,500,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS-675x450.jpg",675,450,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS.jpg",900,600,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS.jpg",900,600,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS.jpg",900,600,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS-870x570.jpg",870,570,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS-600x600.jpg",600,600,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS-600x600.jpg",600,600,true],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS-760x490.jpg",760,490,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS-550x360.jpg",550,360,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS-95x65.jpg",95,65,true],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS.jpg",640,427,false],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS.jpg",96,64,false],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MIT-Mucus-Tape-02-PRESS.jpg",150,100,false]},"author_info":{"info":["Jennifer Chu"]},"category_info":"Innovation<\/a> Research<\/a>","tag_info":"Research","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25691"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25693,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25691\/revisions\/25693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}