Also: polydopamine, mussel glue, DOPA
Mussels glue themselves to wet rocks with proteins rich in the amino acid DOPA. These inspired underwater adhesives and the universal coating polydopamine.
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Lee, Messersmith, Israelachvili and Waite reviewed mussel-inspired adhesives and coatings.
As reported in: Lee, Messersmith, Israelachvili et al. (2011). Mussel-Inspired Adhesives and Coatings. Annual Review of Materials Research. doi:10.1146/annurev-matsci-062910-100429
Lee and colleagues found dopamine forms a thin coating on almost any surface, inspired by mussel proteins.
Built / tested: polydopamine coatings
As reported in: Lee, Dellatore, Miller et al. (2007). Mussel-Inspired Surface Chemistry for Multifunctional Coatings. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1147241
Lee, Lee and Messersmith combined gecko-like pillars with a mussel-inspired coating for adhesion wet or dry.
Built / tested: geckel adhesive
As reported in: Lee, Lee, Messersmith (2007). A reversible wet/dry adhesive inspired by mussels and geckos. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature05968
Abstract only
Harrington and colleagues showed mussel thread coatings use iron-DOPA bonds to be hard yet flexible.
As reported in: Harrington, Masic, Holten-Andersen et al. (2010). Iron-Clad Fibers: A Metal-Based Biological Strategy for Hard Flexible Coatings. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1181044