Natures wonders: how mussels attach to slick surfaces (Introduction)

by David Turell , Monday, July 15, 2024, 20:14 (63 days ago) @ David Turell

In crashing waves:

https://www.the-scientist.com/ts-digest/issue/what-s-the-difference-between-flow-cytome...

"Intertidal mussels live life on the edge, subjected to the constant crashing of waves threatening to rip them off their precarious perches. To stay secure on the rocky shore, mussels manufacture dozens of protein-based fibers called byssal threads, which attach to the substrate via tiny discs known as byssal plaques.

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"...mussels produce super strong, waterproof bioadhesives that cure while immersed in seawater. The strength of the adhesive, and of the byssus itself, relies in part on 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), which Harrington called “a very weird amino acid.”

"DOPA forms coordination bonds with certain metal ions, like iron and vanadium.1 This type of bond is strong, but it re-forms easily when broken, creating a material that is self-healing at the molecular level.

"The mussel’s manufacturing process is surprisingly sophisticated. “These things are like little polymer fabrication factories,” said Harrington. His team showed that the mussel secretes DOPA-containing plaque proteins and metal storage particles containing iron or vanadium ions into microchannels in the mussel foot.2 Then cilia mix the proteins and ions together within the low-pH environment of the microchannel. As the mixture is secreted, the seawater environment triggers bonding between the DOPA and the metal ions, turning the glue from a liquid to a solid."

Comment: Why did mussels pick such a nasty environment? It goes against all common sense. But there they are. A designer God must have wanted them there.