Sticky Like a Mussel: Synthesis of a Biomimetic Adhesive Polymer – Progress So Far!

Mussels secrete a polypeptide used to adhere to various objects in aquatic environments. Although previous groups have developed methods for mimicking this compound, we set out to develop a safer and more practical scheme, which can be practiced by undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory students. Since the adhesive properties of the 3,4-dihydroxy polymer have been previously studied, we focused on generating a 3,5-dihydroxy polymer. This process involves a five-phase reaction of which the first reaction has been successfully completed and analyzed