EAGER: Collaborative Research: Mimicking mussel adhesion with periodically sequenced polypeptides

Cuny City College, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

1506539 (Tu) / 1508717 (Waite) The proposed work emphasizes discoveries in bioadhesion, which has the potential to have "far reaching effects" in a number of technologies. Moreover, the ability to generate a significant quantity of a non-toxic biomimetic adhesive has excellent potential for STEM education, where simple demonstrations can be developed to engage students in fundamental science questions as well as the engineering of materials. Additionally, CCNY is a Minority Serving Institution, and the proposed interdisciplinary work is ideal for engaging students at the high-school, undergraduate and graduate levels. The PI has developed a "community" of science teachers at Harlem area schools, where area teachers can work together with high school students in the research lab during the summer and school year. Taken together, the proposed work can both broaden participation in the local STEM community as well as lead to a significant impact in the adhesion and interfacial science community. Marine mussels use the catecholic amino acid 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa) in mussel foot proteins to mediate robust wet adhesion in the turbulent intertidal zone. The objective of this EAGER proposal is to quantitatively explore the role of high fidelity sequence periodicity in Dopa-rich polypeptide on the dynamics of coating and adhesion. Moreover, the PIs propose a nonbiological synthetic protocol for the synthesis of a high molecular weight periodic sequence with a low polydispersity, allowing us to synthesize bulk-scale inexpensive polymer. Our approach is based on the application of a transport-limited polycondensation reaction to define both the periodicity and the polydispersity. Subsequently, the PIs propose to quantify the coating dynamics and work of adhesion as a function of the sequence parameters. They will use developed synthetic protocols to precisely control the role of Dopa/proline frequency and the spatial distribution of peptides. This research team has established expertise in both the synthetic methods and the characterization tools, but the proposed work aims at EAGER funding because the vision of marrying polymer-scale synthetic tools and biomimetic adhesion is untested and involves a radically different approach.