Implants get mussel power ... TECHNOLOGY WORTH WATCHING.

By FIONA HARVEY.
355 words
17 April 2003
Financial Times
12
English
(c) 2003 Financial Times Limited. All Rights Reserved

Mussels may become more than just the ingredients of a good seafood soup, if scientists in the US have their way. Mussels could be used in our bodies as medical implants, such as cardiac stents and urinary catheters.

Medical implants often fall prey to bacterial infections, causing the devices to malfunction or even poison the patient. A variety of anti-infective techniques have been developed over the years but it has been difficult to find methods that can be used for a range of devices. Materials based on mussels may have a better chance.

Scientists at Northwestern University have used the adhesive proteins secreted by mussels to develop a double-sided coating. The mussel side is sticky, the other repellent. The sticky side attaches securely to the surface of the implant, while the repellent side makes it difficult for cells and proteins to attach themselves and build up into a haven for bacteria.

Mussels (Mytilus edulis) produce a glue from their "feet" that keeps them tightly attached to rocks despite the pounding of the sea. The key to this is a unique natural compound, known as mussel adhesive protein, containing a high concentration of the amino acid Dopa (dihydroxyphenylalanine).

"Our goal is to take advantage of the unique ability of mussels to attach to all types of surfaces, including Teflon, to develop a compound that will allow us to treat a variety of implant surfaces with a single approach," says Phillip Messersmith, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Northwestern University. His team's work is recorded in the current edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The researchers have demonstrated that the double-sided coating can be bound to gold and titanium, commonly used in implants, and stick for up to two weeks. They believe the coating could also eventually be used as a tooth coating to prevent the formation of dental plaque.

Other applications for the mussel protein include the development of super-strong adhesives. Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, US; tel: 00 1 847 491 3741; www.northwestern.edu

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