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Summary: Sticky Polyelectrolytes
Dong Soo Hwang, Herbert Waite, Matt Tirrell, Jacob Israelachvili UCSB
Supported by NSF DMR 0520415: IRG-1
Moisture is the nemesis of adhesive
bonding to surfaces. Dopa changes
that but shows great versatility as well.
Polyelectrolyte complexes have appealing
potential as platforms for underwater
adhesion. The complexes, also known as
coacervates, are fluidic but phase-
separated from bulk water. We hypothesize
that coacervates can become adhesive
when engineered with sticky functionalities.
To this end, we have tested mussel
adhesive proteins (mfp-3), which are
polycationic and contain 20 mole% Dopa(3,
4-dihydroxyphenylalanine). Mfp-3 tested by
the surface forces apparatus on a variety of
wet surfaces shows significant adhesion on
all. Adhesion to silica was highest and
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