Groningen researchers have elucidated the polymerisation of polydopamine, which is similar to the substance that mussels use to stick to anything, reports Nature Communications.

Mussels can stick to almost any surface thanks to the biological ‘glue’ they secrete. This inspired scientists to create something similar: based on the main component (L-DOPA), research is now in full swing on self-polymerising dopamine, which forms a thin layer of polydopamine and sticks to many surfaces. But exactly what this layer looks like is a controversial subject: as many as ten different theories have been put forward, according to a recent paper by Hamoon Hemmatpour, Petra Rudolf and colleagues from Italy, Iran and the University of Groningen. It seems that the time has come to decipher what is really happening at the molecular level.