Metal-Mediated Protein Cross-Linking in the Formation of Marine Mussel Adhesive

生命过程化学(CLP)项目的这一奖项支持普渡大学乔纳森·威尔克教授开展海洋贻贝粘附性基础研究的工作。任何探索过潮汐池塘的人都熟悉贻贝、藤壶、海星和帽贝的粘合剂和水泥。目前的研究工作集中在揭示这些迷人的生物材料形成和功能的化学中心。实验包括对活体动物、提取的蛋白质和合成肽模型的研究。这一系列研究将有助于对金属诱导蛋白质交联的化学以及由此产生的这些反应对粘接性能的影响提供详细的见解。新材料的设计是这种海洋生物材料表征工作的合乎逻辑的产物。了解海洋贻贝粘合剂可能会为开发外科粘合剂、牙科粘固剂和防锈涂层提供有用的见解。

This award in the Chemistry of Life Processes (CLP) program supports work by Professor Jonathan Wilker at Purdue University to carry out fundamental studies on the adhesive of marine mussels. The adhesives and cements of mussels, barnacles, starfish, and limpets are familiar to anyone who has ever explored a tide pool. Current research efforts are focused upon uncovering the chemistry central to formation and function of these fascinating biological materials. Experiments include work with live animals, extracted proteins, and synthetic peptide models. This collection of studies will help to provide detailed insights on the chemistry of metal-induced protein cross-linking as well as the resulting influence of these reactions upon adhesive performance. Design of new materials is a logical outgrowth of such marine biomaterial characterization efforts. Understanding marine mussel adhesive may provide insights useful to developing surgical adhesives, dental cements, and rustproof coatings.