Main description:

Many plants, animals, and microbes use adhesive polymers and structures to attach to inert substrates, to each other, or to other organisms. This is the first major review that brings together research on many of the well-known biological adhesives. Emphasizing the diversity of biological adhesives and associated adhesion processes, it deals with bacteria, fungi, algae, and marine and terrestrial animals. It bridges a variety of disciplines including biochemistry, molecular biology, biomechanics, bioengineering, microbiology, organism structure and function, and ultrastructure. As we learn more about the molecular and mechanical properties of these adhesives, we begin to understand why they adhere so well and how they develop cohesive strength. With this understanding comes the prospect of developing synthetic or semi-synthetic adhesives with broad applications in areas such as medicine, dentistry, and biotechnology. The book is suitable for both industrial and academic researchers.

Feature:

The first major review in the field

Covers both basic and applied aspects

Of great interest for applications in medicine, dentistry, and biotechnology

Contents:

1 Mechanical Properties of Bacterial Exopolymeric Adhesives and their Commercial Development
Anthony P. Haag 2 The molecular genetics of bioadhesion and biofilm formation
Paolo Landini, Gregory Jubelin, and Corinne Dorel-Flamant 3 Adhesion and adhesives of fungi and oomycetes
Lynn Epstein and Ralph L. Nicholson 4 The Ulva spore adhesive system
James A. Callow and Maureen E. Callow 5 Diatom adhesives: Molecular and Mechanical Properties
Anthony Chiovitti, Tony M. Dugdale, and Richard Wetherbee 6 Phenolic-based adhesives of marine brown algae
Philippe Potin and Catherine Leblanc 7 Chemical Subtleties of Mussel and Polychaete Holdfasts
Jason Sagert, Chengjun Sun, and J. Herbert Waite 8 Barnacle underwater attachment
Kei Kamino 9 The Biochemistry and Mechanics of Gastropod Adhesive Gels
Andrew M. Smith 10 Adhesive secretions in echinoderms: An overview
Patrick Flammang 11 An adhesive secreted by Australian frogs of the genus Notaden
Lloyd D. Graham, Veronica Glattauer, Yong Y. Peng, Paul R. Vaughan, Jerome A. Werkmeister, Michael J. Tyler, and John A.M. Ramshaw 12 Properties, Principles, and Parameters of the Gecko Adhesive System
Kellar Autumn 13 Biomimetic Adhesive Polymers Based on Mussel Adhesive Proteins
Bruce P. Lee, Jeffrey L. Dalsin and Phillip B. Messersmith