Abstract
Mussels generate adhesives for staying in place when faced with waves and turbulence of the intertidal zone. Their byssal attachment assembly consists of adhesive plaques connected to the animal by threads. We have noticed that, every now and then, the animals tug on their plaque and threads. This observation had us wondering if the mussels temper or otherwise control catechol chemistry within the byssus in order to manage mechanical properties of the materials. Here, we carried out a study in which the adhesion properties of mussel plaques were compared when left attached to the animals versus detached and exposed only to an aquarium environment. For the most part, detachment from the animal had almost no influence on the mechanical properties on low-energy surfaces. There was a slight, yet significant difference observed with attached versus detached adhesive properties on high energy surfaces. There were significant differences in the area of adhesive deposited by the mussels on a low- versus a high-energy surface. Mussel adhesive plaques appear to be unlike, for example, spider silk, for which pulling on the material is needed for assembly of proteinaceous fibers to manage properties.
Highlights
There are several ways in which mussel adhesive may fail under these conditions [14,39]
The plaque can be completely removed off the surface (“adhesive failure”), the plaque itself may tear apart (“cohesive failure”), the junction of plaque and thread might break (“thread–plaque failure”) or the thread may become severed (“thread breakage”)
Our growing understanding of on bioadhesives hasdifferences given rise may to anbe array of biomimetic materials failure was adhesive in nature when acrylic
Summary
Catechols in the Sea. Mussels, sandcastle worms, and tube worms may be the most famous proponents of catechol chemistry [1]. Sandcastle worms, and tube worms may be the most famous proponents of catechol chemistry [1] These animals attach themselves to rocks using protein-based adhesives containing. 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), for which the amino acid sidechain is a pendant catechol group. The surface adhesive properties of DOPA groups arise when the catechol ring is in the reduced (i.e., not oxidized) state [2,3]. Some evidence does exist for oxidation when bonding at organic surfaces [4]. Cohesive strength for the glues is derived from one electron (to semiquinone) or two-electron (to quinone) oxidation of DOPA to generate covalent cross-links, often with iron beginning such reactivity [5,6]
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