Mussel Byssus Could Lead to New Ways to Repair Bones and Tendons
Researchers claim to have unravelled the secret behind the strength of the fine filaments, known as byssus threads, which the shellfish use to secure themselves to rocks.
The material is made of a protein that is closely related to collegen, which forms skin, bones, cartilage and tendons in mammals.
This acts like a stretchy bungee cord, where 80 per cent of the threads are made from a stiff filaments and 20 per cent are soft and stretchy.
This mix allows the threads to deform without breaking, helping to keep the mussel attached to the rock.
The findings, which are published in the journal Nature Communications, could now be used to help design synthetic materials that share these properies and could be used to create new glues.
Zhao Qin, a civil and environmental engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said glues and sticky threads based on mussel byssus could be used to help repair damaged bones or as surgical sutures in blood vessels, where there is a need for material that is flexible as well as stiff.
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