title: High-performance mussel-inspired adhesives of reduced complexity.
abstract: Despite the recent progress in and demand for wet adhesives, practical underwater adhesion remains limited or non-existent for diverse applications. Translation of mussel-inspired wet adhesion typically entails catechol functionalization of polymers and/or polyelectrolytes, and solution processing of many complex components and steps that require optimization and stabilization. Here we reduced the complexity of a wet adhesive primer to synthetic low-molecular-weight catecholic zwitterionic surfactants that show very strong adhesion (∼50 mJ m(-2)) and retain the ability to coacervate. This catecholic zwitterion adheres to diverse surfaces and self-assembles into a molecularly smooth, thin (<4 nm) and strong glue layer. The catecholic zwitterion holds particular promise as an adhesive for nanofabrication. This study significantly simplifies bio-inspired themes for wet adhesion by combining catechol with hydrophobic and electrostatic functional groups in a small molecule.
authors.affiliation: Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: B Kollbe
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: Saurabh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Das
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: Roscoe
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Linstadt
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: Yair
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kaufman
authors.affiliation: Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: Nadine R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Martinez-Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: Razieh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mirshafian
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
authors.forename: Ellina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kesselman
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
authors.forename: Yeshayahu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Talmon
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: Bruce H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Lipshutz
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: Jacob N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Israelachvili
authors.affiliation: Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: J Herbert
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Waite
mesh_terms: D000269:Adhesives / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D049872:Bivalvia; D002396:Catechols / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000269:Adhesives; D002396:Catechols