Abstract
The substance secreted by mussels, also known as nature’s glue, is a type of liquid protein that hardens rapidly into a solid water-resistant adhesive material. While in seawater or saline conditions, mussels can adhere to all types of surfaces, sustaining its bonds via mussel adhesive proteins (MAPs), a group of proteins containing 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) and catecholic amino acid. Several aspects of this adhesion process have inspired the development of various types of synthetic materials for biomedical applications. Further, there is an urgent need to utilize biologically inspired strategies to develop new biocompatible materials for medical applications. Consequently, many researchers have recently reported bio-inspired techniques and materials that show results similar to or better than those shown by MAPs for a range of medical applications. However, the susceptibility to oxidation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine poses major challenges with regard to the practical translation of mussel adhesion. In this review, various strategies are discussed to provide an option for DOPA/metal ion chelation and to compensate for the limitations imposed by facile 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine autoxidation. We discuss the anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial activity, and adhesive behaviors of mussel bio-products and mussel-inspired materials (MIMs) that make them attractive for synthetic adaptation. The development of biologically inspired adhesive interfaces, bioactive mussel products, MIMs, and arising areas of research leading to biomedical applications are considered in this review.
Highlights
Mussel adhesion is a natural process which involves the secretion of a type of protein glue that hardens rapidly into a solid and turns into a water-resistant adhesive [1]
Tissucol and one PEG-based hydrogel, which is a type of mussel-mimetic tissue glue, demonstrated efficient, non-disruptive, non-toxic bonding to fetal membranes. Their synthetic hydrogel-type tissue adhesive, which merits further evaluation in vivo, has emerged as a potential sealing modality for iatrogenic membrane defects. These results demonstrated that mussels glue efficiently seals elastomeric membranes under wet or moist conditions with comparable viscoelastic properties [41]
Hydrophobic interactions and inter-residue H-bonding combine to result in strong cohesion within Mfp3 layers over a relatively wide range of pH levels
Summary
Mussel adhesion is a natural process which involves the secretion of a type of protein glue that hardens rapidly into a solid and turns into a water-resistant adhesive [1] Many features of this process have inspired the development of synthetic materials for medical applications. Researchers have investigated the applications of mussels-inspired materials (MIMs) for the construction of ultra-small magnetic nanoparticles with catechol-derivative anchor groups which possess an irreversible binding affinity to metal oxides and can optimally disperse super-paramagnetic nanoparticles under physiological conditions. This leads to ultra-stable metal-oxide nanoparticles and allows close control over the hydrodynamic diameter and interfacial chemistry. We discuss the importance of mussel bio-products and MIMs with regard to surface coatings, adhesive properties, medicine, surgery, biomedical science and bio-nanotechnology
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
