The major component of the holdfast, polymers of N-acetylglucosamine, may be well suited as the base material for a wet adhesive. It appears to produce strong molecular interactions with many solid materials due to non-specific interactions; it does not disperse in an aqueous environment upon secretion due to a high degree of crosslinking. Unfortunately, LCZ696 the detailed composition of the holdfast remains unknown and we know nothing about the processes that triggers the curing of newly secreted holdfast material. Conclusions Adhesives have a broad range of biomedical applications, from denture to surgical suture. A good bio-adhesive must be fast to cure, waterproof, and
resilient once bonded with a range of different materials. A synthetic adhesive often relies on catalytic reactions to cure, such as in an epoxy-resin mixture. The curing of adhesive mixtures for medical and dental applications
is typically triggered by UV light, which conveniently triggers crosslinking reactions at the desirable site. Most natural biological adhesins, such as the holdfasts secreted by Caulobacter crescentus and several species of alphaproteobacteria [23–25], adhere to solid surfaces under GDC941 normal aqueous conditions. This important property naturally selected during the course of evolution may soon be harnessed for biomedical LY3023414 mouse applications. Acknowledgments This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health Grants GM077648 and GM102841 to Y.V.B. and the National Science Foundation Award PHY 1058375 to J.X.T. References 1. Poindexter JS: Biological properties and classification of the Caulobacter crescentus group. Bacteriol Rev 1964, 28:231–295.PubMed 2. Poindexter JS: The Caulobacters : ubiquitous unusual bacteria. Microbiol Rev 1981, 45:123–179.PubMed 3. Li G, Tang JX: Low flagellar motor torque and high swimming efficiency of Caulobacter crescentus swarmer cells. Biophys J 2006, 91:2726–2734.PubMedCrossRef 4. Li G, Tang JX: Accumulation of Microswimmers near a Surface Mediated by Collision MG-132 solubility dmso and Rotational Brownian Motion. Phys Rev Lett 2009,103(7):078101.PubMedCrossRef 5.
Berg HC, Anderson RA: Bacteria swim by rotating their flagellar filaments. Nature 1973,245(5425):380–382.PubMedCrossRef 6. Berg HC: E. coli in motion. New York: Springer; 2004. 7. Sommer JM, Newton A: Sequential regulation of developmental events during polar morphogenesis in Caulobacter crescentus : assembly of pili on swarmer cells requires cell separation. J Bacteriol 1988, 170:409–415.PubMed 8. Wagner JK, Setayeshgar S, Sharon LA, Reilly JP, Brun YV: A nutrient uptake role for bacterial cell envelope extensions. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 2006,103(31):11772–11777.PubMedCrossRef 9. Tsang PH, Li G, Brun YV, Freund LB, Tang JX: Adhesion of single bacterial cells in the micronewton range. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 2006,103(15):5764–5768.PubMedCrossRef 10.