基于贻贝启发的水下仿生胶黏剂

Marine mussels can quickly and firmly anchor to foreign surfaces in seawater using their byssus and plaque. Mussels produce byssus and plaque through a physiological process similar to "injection production". Mussels squeeze liquid protein into the ventral groove on their feet, which will then form hair-like byssus in seconds. Each byssus connects with a plaque at its end, and the plaque can firmly adhere to rocks or other solid surfaces. Byssus and plaque are composed of a variety of mussel foot proteins (Mfps), and almost every Mfps contains L-3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA). In the past few decades, researchers have basically revealed the structure of Mfps and their adhesion mechanism. The catechol group of DOPA achieves strong interfacial bonding through a variety of covalent and non-covalent interactions, such as oxidative crosslinking, metal-catechol coordination, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interaction, hydrophobic interactions, π-π interactions, cation-π interactions, etc. Based on the structure of Mfps and their adhesion mechanism, a variety of new biomimetic DOPA adhesives with excellent mechanical properties and functionalization have been obtained using polymer system modified by DOPA and its analogues. In this review, we first introduce the composition and adhesion mechanism of Mfps, then discuss the corresponding structure characteristics and adhesion mechanism of coacervate adhesives, hydrogels adhesives and intelligent adhesives. Finally, the existing problems and future development prospects of underwater biomimetic adhesives are presented.