Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 19, 2025

Particles without a Box: Brush-first Synthesis of Photodegradable PEG Star Polymers under Ambient Conditions
Published on: October 10, 2013
Accessing the Next Generation of Synthetic Mussel-Glue Polymers via Mussel-Inspired Polymerization
Jana M Krüger1, Hans G Börner1
1Laboratory for Organic Synthesis of Functional Systems Institution, Department of Chemistry, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Brook-Taylor-Strasse 2, 12489, Berlin, Germany.
Abstract:
The formation of cysteinyldopa as biogenic connectivity in proteins is used to inspire a chemical pathway toward mussel-adhesive mimics. The mussel-inspired polymerization (MIPoly) exploits the chemically diverse family of bisphenol monomers that is oxidizable with 2-iodoxybenzoic acid to give bisquinones. Those react at room temperature with dithiols in Michael-type polyadditions, which leads to polymers with thiol-catechol connectivities (TCC). A set of TCC polymers proved adhesive behavior even on challenging poly(propylene) substrates, where they compete with commercial epoxy resins in dry adhesive strength. MIPoly promises facile scale up and exhibits high modularity to tailor adhesives, as proven on a small library where one candidate showed wet adhesion on aluminum substrates in both water and sea water models.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Overview
Ruthenium-based Grubbs catalyst is the most commonly used catalyst for olefin metathesis polymerization. Grubbs catalyst consists of a...
Ziegler–Natta Chain-Growth Polymerization: Overview
Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview
Many natural and synthetic polymers are produced by...
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP)
Anionic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism
Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters
Polyesters are commonly prepared from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; the crude product is known as poly(ethylene terephthalate) or PET. However, polyesters are synthesized industrially by transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol at 150 °C. The two reactants and the polymer...

