Bruce Lee, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Michigan Tech, focuses on adhesives inspired by nature. More specifically, the natural glues made by mussels that anchor them to rocks, boats and docks. Lee's past work on hydrogels and tissue adhesives led him to look more closely at what makes these adhesives work underwater—and how people could use them to improve not only robotics and submarine sensors but also help heal wounds.
As a participant in the Navy's Young Investigator Program, Lee plans to continue delving into not only what makes mussels sticky but also how to reverse that adhesion.
"This work is novel in the sense that there is no smart adhesive out there that can perform underwater," he says. "The chemistry that we can incorporate into the adhesive, causing it to reversibly bond and de-bond, is quite new."
The challenge now is to figure out how to apply an electric current, causing the DOPA-based adhesive to release, and then reapplying the current to make it glue-like again.
"A smart adhesive can bind sensors underwater; it can attach to a ship hull; it potentially could help underwater robotics or unmanned vehicles and integrate with naval systems," Lee says, adding that there is also a biomedical component. "Think of a band-aid—our adhesive would be a less painful way to remove a bandage—or being able to detach or reattach a prosthetic limb or a wearable sensor."
Prior to joining Michigan Tech, Lee helped found a start-up company, Nerites Corporation, which aimed at commercializing biomimetic bioadhesive and antifouling technologies. Nerites Corporation was acquired by Kensey Nash Corporation (part of Royal DSM) in 2011.
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