News Excerpt:

A new study finds that Mussels can create quick-release interfaces by way of a neurochemically-mediated junction, where billions of motile cilia hold fast to interlinked biopolymer sheets.

Key highlights of the study:

• It sheds light on the dynamic interaction between non-living materials and living tissues that can be achieved in implanted medical devices and detachable biosensors.
• The ability to produce stable and strong connections between them while also being easily removable on demand, is crucial for a wide range of advanced biomaterial applications.
• Engineering such biointerfaces has proven difficult, mainly due to the significant differences in mechanical properties between soft biotic tissues and abiotic materials.
• Investigation: Taking inspiration from an example of a strong biointerface in nature, researchers investigated the connections between the Byssus Stem root and the foot of Mytilus Mussels.
• A Byssus is a bundle of non-living filaments that Mussels use to anchor themselves. 
• The stem root of the Byssus is connected to the living tissue of the Mussel foot. 
• The high surface contact between the cilia on the foot tissue and the lamellar Byssus stem root provides a way to counteract the mechanical mismatch between the two surfaces.
• The cilial movement is influenced by neurotransmitters, suggesting that dopamine and serotonin controls the mechanical interaction between the living and non-living tissues.

About Mussels:

• Mussels belong to the marine family Mytilidae and the freshwater family Unionidae. 
• Worldwide in distribution, they are most common in cool seas. 
• Freshwater mussels include about 1,000 known species inhabiting most of the world's streams, lakes, and ponds.
• Marine mussels are usually wedge-shaped or pear-shaped and range in size from about 5 to 15 centimeters.
• The shells of many species are dark blue or dark greenish brown on the outside; on the inside, they are often pearly.
• Mussels are often used as indicators of water quality and have been shown to reflect the level of contamination they are exposed to in the water column.