A VERY sticky glue could paradoxically help prevent bacteria and blood clots clinging to implants such as catheters.
Bare metal implants are usually covered with a non-stick layer to ward off clots and infections. But glues used to attach these coatings aren’t water-resistant and often degrade. Different glues are also required depending on the metal used.
So Jeffrey Dalsin and his team at Northwestern University in Chicago turned to mussels, which use a resin to stick to a variety of surfaces including rocks and speeding boat hulls.
They extracted the amino acid dopa from the mussel resin and attached it…
