Simple peptide coacervates adapted for rapid pressure-sensitive wet adhesion

Ilia Kaminker, Wei Wei, Alex M. Schrader, Yeshayahu Talmon, Megan T. Valentine, Jacob N. Israelachvili, J. Herbert Waite, Songi Han*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report here that a dense liquid formed by spontaneous condensation, also known as simple coacervation, of a single mussel foot protein-3S-mimicking peptide exhibits properties critical for underwater adhesion. A structurally homogeneous coacervate is deposited on underwater surfaces as micrometer-thick layers, and, after compression, displays orders of magnitude higher underwater adhesion at 2 N m-1 than that reported from thin films of the most adhesive mussel-foot-derived peptides or their synthetic mimics. The increase in adhesion efficiency does not require nor rely on post-deposition curing or chemical processing, but rather represents an intrinsic physical property of the single-component coacervate. Its wet adhesive and rheological properties correlate with significant dehydration, tight peptide packing and restriction in peptide mobility. We suggest that such dense coacervate liquids represent an essential adaptation for the initial priming stages of mussel adhesive deposition, and provide a hitherto untapped design principle for synthetic underwater adhesives.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)9122-9131
Number of pages10
JournalSoft Matter
Volume13
Issue number48
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
National Institutes of Health
Ohsumi Frontier Science Foundation
NIH Office of the DirectorS10OD010610
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial ResearchR01DE018468
Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, Harvard UniversityDMR 1720256
National Science Foundation1720256

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