Biological duo-component adhesive

Man-made adhesives are usually a pretty toxic mixture of chemical components. Though being used virtually anywhere - in office, industry, medicine - their environmental impact, including degradation, is largely being ignored. In contrast, biological adhesives derived from living organisms are nontoxic. Unlike most synthetic adhesives the bio-alternatives also function under wet conditions, facilitating wider applications in e.g. surgery. Scientists from Innsbruck University (Austria), Belgium and Sweden  now disentangled the fundamental mechanism of a particularly smart two-component system(Wunderer et al., 2019). This system enables flatworm adhesion and controlled detachment to and from wet surfaces, respectively. Flatworms rely on a sophisticated interplay between spatially restricted molecule production and interaction between oppositely charged chemical groups. Knowledge about the mechanism and the molecules involved creates a solid basis for innovation through biomimicry, and thus for the development of synthetic reversible adhesion systems for medicinal and industrial applications.

Inspired?! Have a look at the live videos: https://www.pnas.org/content/suppl/2019/02/19/1814230116.DCSupplemental

Wunderer J, Lengerer B, Pjeta R, Bertemes P, Kremser L, Lindner H, Ederth T, Hess MW, Stock D, Salvenmoser W, et al. 2019. A mechanism for temporary bioadhesion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 201814230.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Feb 2019, 201814230; DOI:10.1073/pnas.1814230116