Abstract
Mussel foot proteins (MFp) could cure rapidly under water and adhere to different substrates. It has broad application prospects as an biocompatible bioglue. The soluble recombinant SUMO-MFp fusion protein (SFp3) was efficiently expressed in E.coli, and about 5% of tyrosine of SFp3 were converted into DOPA by using mushroom tyrosinase. The adhesion strength of the mixture of DOPA-containing SFp3 (DSFp3) and hyaluronic acid (MW = 1 500 kD) was more than twice that of the cyanoacrylate-based tissue adhesives, Dermabond (®), and it reached 52% of its maximal strength within 5 minutes on cowhide. A layer-by-layer assembly of hyaluronic acid with DSFp3 was observed to form compact sheet structures through biofilm interferometry assay and scanning electron microscopy. This work provides a solution and theoretical basis for the low adhesion strength and slow curing of protein-based bioglue.