Nature's strongest glue now works in both wet and salty environments
An aquatic bacterium called (Caulobacter crescentus) produces an extremely powerful glue (holdfast) that adhere to its surrounding wet surfaces, such as pipes and fresh water, with one big exception: where the salinity level is high, such as the sea and also human tissues, it loses all of its adhesive properties.
To find out how to improve holdfast adhesion in high salinity environments, the researchers used another bacterium (Hirschia baltica) the new glue perform very well in a saline environment
This study marks an important step towards the development of "green" adhesives that can be used where there is the presence of salty water: in the shipping industry and in plumbing, for example—and also in hospitals, as surgical adhesives.
The new glue is an entirely organic glue, whereas industrial glues are mainly petroleum derivatives, which therefore produce toxic waste. In addition, this glue comes from a non-pathogenic bacterium that can be easily produced in very large quantities.
Researchers also believe that studying the diversity of bacteria related various environments may allow them to discover other glues with useful properties.