The strength of barnacle cement is unbeaten when compared to anything man-made, say researchers at Newcastle University, UK. It can stick to any surface, under any conditions. But exactly how it works has been a mystery. The international team of scientists have shown for the first time that barnacle larvae release an oily droplet to clear the water from surfaces before sticking down using a phosphoprotein adhesive. They say that their findings could pave the way for the development of novel synthetic bioadhesives to be used in medical implants and micro-electronics.

Advances in imaging techniques, such as 2-photon microscopy, allowed them to observe the adhesion process and characterize two components—one that clears the water from the surface and the other to cement the barnacle down.

In the past, the strong lasers used for optically sectioning biological samples typically killed the samples. Today’s technology allowed the researchers to study life processes exactly as they would happen in nature, they said.

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