Bioadhesion and biomimetics: From nature to applications

Bioadhesion is often defined as the state in which two materials, at least one of which is biological in nature, are held together for extended periods of time by interfacial forces. This edited book will highlight different aspects of this phenomenon. One section will describe studies of natural adhesives. These include “wet” adhesives which are produced and secreted by sessile marine organisms such as mussels and algae, and “dry” adhesives such as the one characterizing the gecko foot. A second section will focus on biomimetic adhesives. These man-made materials are fabricated based on the lessons learned from Nature. Finally, the last section will review medical applications of adhesive materials including surgical sealants and mucoadhesive drug delivery vehicles.