By K.l. Capozza
UPI Science News
From the Science & Technology Desk
Published 4/22/2003 11:01 PM
View printer-friendly version

SAN FRANCISCO, April 22 (UPI) -- From ocean shoreline direct to the operating room, a new shellfish-derived "smart glue" could both anchor and protect medical implants in the near future, researchers reported Tuesday.

The researchers, from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., have synthesized a remarkable substance, called DOPA, which is found in the whisker-like beards that mussels use to cling to solid surfaces.

The advance is important, the researchers said, because the slow accumulation of proteins and cells on implant devices -- a process called fouling -- causes bacterial infections and complications in patients who receive therapeutic implants such as cardiac stents, urinary catheters and dialysis tubing. Their tests showed when applied to gold and titanium surfaces the new two-sided compound effectively prevented fouling for up to two weeks.

"We suspect the benefits will last even longer because when mussels attach to surfaces they do so in what is essentially a permanent form," Dr. Phillip Messersmith, lead author and professor of Biomedical Engineering told United Press International.

In order to withstand the turbulent forces of the ocean's intertidal zone, mussel tendrils rely on DOPA's water-resistant and powerful adhesive qualities to stay anchored. DOPA sticks to almost any surface -- even Teflon -- making it an ideal compound for securing medical devices.

In a presentation at the annual meeting of the Materials Research Society, the team described how they created a two-sided coating by attaching the DOPA molecule to another molecule that repels protein and cell build-up. The result is a new polymer that both sticks to a wide range of surfaces and prevents medical implant contamination.

Although the new coating has not been tested in humans, the researchers said the substance is so promising and cost-effective it should become available for clinical use within the next three to five years.

"The results just look too good," Dr. J. Herbert Waite a researcher with the Marine Science Institute at University of California - Santa Barbara told UPI. "They need to do more studies looking at the long term. Four-month effectiveness is about as good as any study has shown," he told UPI.

Although the most likely application of the two-sided coating will be for medical implants, the researchers also see a host of potential uses for the discovery. The substance might even be used against the mussel itself to prevent the mollusk from attaching to ships and docks and damaging their infrastructure.

"We hope to take advantage of the mussel adhesive properties to prevent mussels and barnacles from attaching to boats but our results, so far, are inconclusive," Messersmith noted.