Bruce P. Lee and Pegah Kord Forooshani published “Recent Approaches in Designing Bioadhesive Materials Inspired by Mussel Adhesive Protein” in the Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry.
Mussels can bind to various wet surfaces, such as a ship hull or rock, through the secretion of adhesive proteins.
This paper reviews the remarkable underwater adhesion of these proteins, which have inspired many scientists to incorporate such unique chemistries into the design of a wide range of materials. The chemistry extents to biomaterials, such as adhesives, coatings, and therapeutic drug carriers, as well as to smart materials, like smart adhesives, actuators, and self-healing materials.
This is an invited and peer-reviewed review article which provides a comprehensive and updated information on how the adhesive proteins function and methods for using these designs to create new and improved functional materials.