PRIN 2017 “MUSSEL”
Title: Mussel-inspired functional biopolymers for underwater adhesion, surface/interface derivatization and nanostructure/composite self-assembly.
ICCOM Principal Investigator: Stefania Roberta Cicco.
Project Type: National.
Duration: 29/10/2019 – 29/10/2023.
Abstract: Mussel-inspired adhesive polymers, of which polydopamine (PDA) is a leading model, attract considerable interest in biomaterials science, nanomedicine and tissue engineering for surface functionalization and for nanostructured and composite systems. To meet the increasing demand of wet adhesives and surface functionalization technologies for biomedical applications, there is a need to better understand the structure, properties and adhesion mechanisms of PDA, to set up versatile functionalization methodologies toward chemical diversity, and to develop next-generation adhesive polymers that better replicate the strong, instant and durable wet adhesion of mussel byssus for new functional materials, nanostructures and coatings. The MUSSEL proposal involves 6 Research Units and is organized in 3 workpackages: WP1: Biomimetic chemistry and modeling; WP2: Surface functionalization and tailoring; WP3: Nanostructure and composite self-assembly. Pillars of the project are: a) the advancement of knowledge on PDA structure and underwater adhesion; b) innovative methodologies expanding the scope of biomimetic adhesives; c) novel mussel-inspired technological solutions.
Coordinatore: Maria Emanuela Errico, CNR-IPCB.
Partnership: CNR-IPCB, CNR-ICCOM, CNR-ITM, CNR-ISTP, CNR-IPCF.
Partecipanti ICCOM: Stefania Roberta Cicco.
Fianced by: MIUR – PRIN 2017 projects, project code no. 2017YJMPZN.
Project total budget: € € 123.000.
ICCOM total budget: € 15.660.