Moisture is the nemesis of strong polymer adhesion to metals and minerals. Most engineered adhesive polymers require extensive prior surface cleaning, drying, and sometimes even chemical modification for effective adhesion to polar surfaces. Such surface preparation is difficult in vivo since biomineralized tissues and implant material surfaces are necessarily hydrated within the body. Various marine organisms have evolved highly effective adhesive strategies for wet surfaces. The broad goal of this proposal is to obtain mechanistic information about marine adhesion in order to translate it into effective applications for restoration and repair of hard tissues. While the discovery of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa)-protein involvement in adhesion has already inspired several new biomedical materials, Dopa is not the only bioinspired theme.
The specific aims here are to determine using mass spectrometry whether and to what extent phosphoserine and 4-hydroxyarginine are linked to mussel adhesion on different surfaces, characterize the specific protein-protein interactions during adhesive cross-linking, and to explore how factors such as mass, primary sequence, and side- chain functionalization influence the coating or bridging behavior of mfp-1 on surfaces such as titanium and hydroxyapatite using the surface forces apparatus. Bio-inspired adhesives and sealants are much needed in dentistry and orthopedics not just to improve the strength and durability of bonding to hard tissues, but also to emancipate the present technology, particularly in dentistry, from a reliance on highly reactive and toxic organic formulations.

Public Health Relevance

In dental and biomedical restorations, water is the nemesis of true adhesion between solid surfaces and polymers. The strong underwater adhesion of marine organisms such as mussels is based on an adaptive set of molecular and biophysical properties that will be systematically translated into medically relevant strategies.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DE018468-02
Application #
7668044
Study Section
Biomaterials and Biointerfaces Study Section (BMBI)
Program Officer
Drummond, James
Project Start
2008-08-04
Project End
2013-06-30
Budget Start
2009-07-01
Budget End
2010-06-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$427,789
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Santa Barbara
Department
Biology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
094878394
City
Santa Barbara
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
93106
Monnier, Christophe A; DeMartini, Daniel G; Waite, J Herbert (2018) Intertidal exposure favors the soft-studded armor of adaptive mussel coatings. Nat Commun 9:3424
Filippidi, Emmanouela; Cristiani, Thomas R; Eisenbach, Claus D et al. (2017) Toughening elastomers using mussel-inspired iron-catechol complexes. Science 358:502-505
Seo, Sungbaek; Lee, Dong Woog; Ahn, Jin Soo et al. (2017) Significant Performance Enhancement of Polymer Resins by Bioinspired Dynamic Bonding. Adv Mater 29:
Kaminker, Ilia; Wei, Wei; Schrader, Alex M et al. (2017) Simple peptide coacervates adapted for rapid pressure-sensitive wet adhesion. Soft Matter 13:9122-9131
DeMartini, Daniel G; Errico, John M; Sjoestroem, Sebastian et al. (2017) A cohort of new adhesive proteins identified from transcriptomic analysis of mussel foot glands. J R Soc Interface 14:
Waite, J Herbert (2017) Mussel adhesion - essential footwork. J Exp Biol 220:517-530
Wei, Wei; Petrone, Luigi; Tan, YerPeng et al. (2016) An Underwater Surface-Drying Peptide Inspired by a Mussel Adhesive Protein. Adv Funct Mater 26:3496-3507
Nicklisch, Sascha C T; Spahn, Jamie E; Zhou, Hongjun et al. (2016) Redox Capacity of an Extracellular Matrix Protein Associated with Adhesion in Mytilus californianus. Biochemistry 55:2022-30
Kang, Taegon; Banquy, Xavier; Heo, Jinhwa et al. (2016) Mussel-Inspired Anchoring of Polymer Loops That Provide Superior Surface Lubrication and Antifouling Properties. ACS Nano 10:930-7
Levine, Zachary A; Rapp, Michael V; Wei, Wei et al. (2016) Surface force measurements and simulations of mussel-derived peptide adhesives on wet organic surfaces. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 113:4332-7

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