<p>The development of new materials
has been inspired by lessons learned from natural systems. In the area of
underwater adhesion and adhesives, inspiration has come from the complex
protein adhesives generated by marine organism such as barnacle and mussels.
These protein systems have a high incorporation of a unique amino acid, dihydroxyphenylalanine,
and provides the unique adhesive qualities synthetic systems strive to emulate.</p>
<p>By understanding how marine mussels
stick to a variety of surfaces, new strategies can be explored for preventing
the adhesion of biological organisms to various substrates. A continuous
concern for marine vessels is the detrimental impact caused by biofouling on
the hull of the ship. Fuel consumption can increase as the vessel’s drag
increasing fuel consumption and non-native species can be introduced into new environments.
Taking inspiration from catechol curing, new oxidative surfaces were investigated
as potential antifouling coatings.</p>
<p>Further insight into the marine
mussels ability to apply and cure its adhesive on a variety of substrate has
also inspired various synthetic polymers. The catechol moiety can be
incorporated into a polymer backbone to give a new solvent based adhesive. Further
investigation of the poly(styrene-co-(3,4-dihydroxystyrene)) adhesive system was
done to formulate an underwater adhesive for unique use cases. A terpolymer was
also explored as an ideal adhesive taking inspiration from the mussels by
incorporating flexible, stiff, and sticky components to give a tunable adhesive.</p>
<p>Having a strong bonding synthetic
adhesive that can be used on a laboratory scale is good for academic
investigation, but not of use outside the lab if it cannot easily be produced
on a commercial scale. With the goal of large scale synthesis, a new
polymerization method was introduced addressing some of the issues currently preventing
commercial scale production.</p><br>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/12496994 |
| Date | 12 October 2021 |
| Creators | Samuel L Huntington (8983913) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/AN_UNDERSTANDING_OF_MUSSEL_ADHESION_TO_INFLUENCE_MATERIALS_DEVELOPMENT/12496994 |
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