The common marine mussel, Mytilus edulis, has evolved a mechanism for permanent attachment to many different surfaces underwater. The key to this animal's adhesive mechanism is a proteinaceous cement, i.e., mussel-adhesive protein, or MAP, which recently has been sequenced.
One specific aim of this project is to determine what specific simplifications in MAP's repeating decapeptide structure can be introduced, without significantly affecting adhesive function, into the long-term synthesis plans for one or more MAP-analogues. The types of simplifications that will be evaluated are reduced protein/peptide molecular weight, altered hydrogen-bonding capacity, and reduction of accessible dopa content. A second specific aim of this project is to study the inclusion of inexpensive commercial surfactants as effective spreading agents for immediate use with natural MAP, and for use in long-term studies with synthethic MAP and/or MAP-analogue formulations. This improved and inexpensive spreading capability to extend the surface coverage of MAP formulations, along with the known capability of MAP to displace water from the substrate surface, would help create wide markets for use of synthetic MAP as an effective combination adhesive/sealant in numerous biomedical applications, e.g., especially as a new biocompatible dental cement.
