Grant funds study of nature's strongest glue

IU scientists received a $1.2 million grant last week from the National Institute of Health to research the world's strongest natural glue, with the hope of artificially re-creating it.\nThe glue comes from the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus, which has adhesive capabilities of five tons per square inch, said Yves Brun, a biologist and IU faculty member.\n"Most bacteria will make some substance that allows them to attach to a surface," he said. "... This one happens to make a glue that is extremely strong. It's the strongest biological glue that's been found so far. If you put this glue on the surface of a quarter, it could support the weight, roughly, of an elephant."\nThree to four times stronger than super glue, C. crescentus also has the ability to form bonds to surfaces in water, Brun said. With some more research, these bacteria could drastically affect medicine. \nFor instance, "if you are doing surgery and you want to close a wound, which is wet, fleshy tissue," C. crescentus bacteria would be useful, Brun said. He also mentioned engineering examples, such as the shipping industry, which could benefit from the powerful waterproof adhesive.\nIn addition to these applications, the research can be used in studying pathogens that cause disease, said Evelyn Toh, a doctoral student studying the bacteria. \n"Bacteria adhesion is the first point of contact for pathogens," Toh said.\nWith funds from IU's Lilly Endowment and the Faculty Research Support Program, research began on this organism to study how bacteria function. \n"All bacteria have properties in common, and you can't study all of them because there are too many," Brun said.\nGail Hardy, a post-doctoral fellow who has worked on the project since 2002, said this particular bacterium is "a really easy organism to work with, with a good genetic system, and it grows rapidly."\nThe grant from the National Institute of Health will allow the scientists to research how the bacteria produce the glue so the lab can reproduce the glue. Brun said the glue is hard to study at this point because it naturally occurs in small amounts.\nAnother challenge is the strength of the glue, which is so strong that even on wet surfaces it sticks to many objects. Graduate student Lok To Sham said the students have tried many solvents, including Clorox, to remove the glue but were unsuccessful.\nBecause of all the challenges, Brun said it might take a few years to make enough glue to start testing for the application. \n"It's a slow process," Hardy said. "Sometimes in science you end up with more questions than answers"