October 19, 2007

Mussels help Biomedical Engineering

A biomedical engineer from North-western University, Phillip Messersmith has been working with mussels, researching the little suckers ability to stick to a wide range of objects, it is this form of attachment that interests the research team.

The potential for this application would benefit medical science in particular surgery where it could be used in so many different ways. The active ingredient for this is process is Dopamine, the Neurotransmitter. This can mimic proteins and therefore could become the building block for these coatings.

Source [Physorg]