Biological Adhesive Systems: From Nature to Technical and Medical Application Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2010 Edition

There is a growing need for new adhesives for technical and medical applications! The nature uses adhesion in a host of ways and we can learn a great deal from this. Adhesive systems of potential interest need to be thoroughly analyzed and the common underlying principles and unique features of natural adhesives have to be understood.

The first part of this book gives an overview of selected adhesive systems from the plant and animal kingdoms. It describes their structure (morphology), function (secretion), and what kinds of adhesives are produced (composition). Knowledge about biological adhesives raises the question as to how these systems can benefit our daily lives.

The second part of this book focuses on technical and medical applications of biological adhesives and biomimetic systems. The use of renewable biological components in industrial adhesives is also highlighted as is the use of biomimetic and bio-adhesives in basic and applied research. Medical and surgical applications of these adhesives such as wound healing and the bonding of tissues/organs are also covered.

This publication can be readily used in conjunction with the book “Biological Adhesives” by Smith and Callow (2006) which describes the basis of bonding systems and their chemical and mechanical properties and means that readers now have a comprehensive overview of biological adhesive systems and their applications!

Dr. Dipl.-Biol. Janek von Byern:

While he was studying at the Johann W. Goethe University in Frankfurt/Main and during several research stays at the private marine research station IFMB in Giglio, Italy, cephalopods and their complexity (flexibility, color adaptation, and intelligence) aroused Janek von Byern’s interest. With his diploma thesis he focused on the pharmacology and histology of the blood circulation system in Sepia officinalis.

Inspired by Uwe Piatkowski from the IFM-GEOMAR  institute he began to consider the abstract thought that cephalopods could also produce glue. During further marine research stays he met Prof. Dr. J. Ott from the Department of Marine Biology of the University of Vienna and finally moved in 2003 to their Core Cell Imaging and Ultrastructure research facility.

In his PhD he characterized the adhesive system of the pygmy squid Idiosepius and started to analyze the glue components biochemically. Sampling led him to South Africa, Mozambique, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan and Australia where he collected different species, which raised new knowledge of other glue-producing animals and their attachment behavior.

Dr. Dipl.-Biol. Ingo Grunwald:

is a research associate and project manager in the “Biomolecular Surfaces and Materials Design” work group at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM) in Bremen, Germany. The Fraunhofer IFAM is the largest independent research organization in Europe in the area of industrial adhesive bonding technology. Ingo Grunwald’s work at the Fraunhofer IFAM focuses on biomimetic materials and biofunctionalized surfaces. He studied biology at University of Hanover (Germany), with biochemistry and molecular biology being his main areas of interest. His Ph.D. work concerned the purification, characterization, and molecular cloning of a new sugar-binding protein. Research time spent at Cancer Research UK andat the TECHNION in Israel broadened his interest in protein interactions, protein analysis, and proteomics. He studied the functionality of material surfaces with designed proteins in the field of nanobiotechnology as part of postdoctoral work at the University of Stuttgart (Germany). Ingo Grunwald has a lectureship in bioanalytical methods and surface biofunctionalization at the University of Bremen (Germany).