To develop the so-called hydroglue, the team concentrated on the combination of two chemical groups that give mussels their ability to cling onto rocks — catechols and thiols — and mucin, which is the primary non-water component of mucus that also contains thiols. Specifically, the team combined mussel-inspired polymers with mucin thiols to transform a liquid into a sticky gel.

This result of this mixture, according to the team of MIT engineers, is a gel that adheres to both dry and wet surfaces.

“It’s like a two-part epoxy. You combine two liquids together, and chemistry starts to occur so that the liquid solidifies while the substance is simultaneously gluing itself to the surface,” the researchers explained.

Interestingly, the researchers demonstrated that they have control “over the speed at which the liquids gelate and adhere,” and they can reportedly reproduce this effect on “all wet surfaces, at room temperature, and under very mild conditions.”

In the lab, the mussel-mucus-inspired hydroglue was deposited on glass surfaces with bacteria overnight, where it successfully prevented bacteria from forming a biofilm.

In the future, the researchers envision using the material as a coating for medical implants. The hydroglue is also being eyed for the creation of sustainable packaging materials with the addition of different ingredients such as keratin.

The study, “Mussel-inspired cross-linking mechanisms enhance gelation and adhesion of multifunctional mucin-derived hydrogels,” appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.