Our Lab in the News

New Atlas: Plant-based glue bonds even when placed underwater

New Scientist: Superglue alternative made from soya is strong but biodegradable

Chemistry World: Sustainable glue made from soy oil and tannin outperforms best commercial adhesives

IFLScience: Soy-Based Superglue Offers Sustainable Sticking Strength

Mussel Power

• Featured in SCI: where science meets business. Issue 1, 2022.

No Till Farmer: Soybean Glue Could Build Your Pickup One Day

Purdue Research Foundation News:

• Environmentally sustainable commercial adhesive from Purdue is optioned to gluECO Adhesives
• Solving stickiness sustainably

Discovery Park District: Take 6: Jonathan Wilker, College of Science

Composites World: Drawing design cues from nature: Designing for biomimetic composites, Part 1

Purdue Research Foundation News Press Releases:

• "A sticky subject: Studying shellfish for advanced adhesives"
• "Shellfish inspire chemists to develop new stronger, more sustainable glues"

WFYI Indianapolis: Purdue Researchers Studying Shellfish To Create Sustainable Adhesives

Slash Gear: Chemists turn to shellfish for inspiration to create better adhesives

Jon was interviewed by The Native Influence in 2020. 

Our paper on how weak bonds enhance toughness was highlighted in some recent media outlets:

• Purdue Research Foundation News: How do you make adhesives for electronics, vehicles, and construction tougher?
• Institution of Mechanical Engineers: Mussel-inspired glue finds strength in weakness
• Fierce Electronics: Purdue studies mussel and oyster proteins for better adhesives in electronics

Our biomimetic adhesive made it to the market:

• Purdue News: "Chemistry startup ready to take unique Purdue adhesive technology to the market"

Our paper on iron availability and marine mussels glue performance was highlighted in some recent media outlets: 

• ACS News Room: Decreased iron levels in seawater make mussels loosen their grip
• U.K. Daily Mail: Weak mussels: Decreased iron levels in seawater due to climate change make the molluscs loosen their grip on rocks, study shows
• Purdue Research Foundation News: Changing seawater hints at future for adhesives from sea creatures
• Green Me (Italy): Cambiamenti climatici e oceani acidi stanno mettendo a rischio anche la sopravvivenza delle cozze
• NSF Research News: Changing seawater hints at future for adhesives from ocean species
• German National Public Radio: Jon Wilker discusses ocean acidification and iron availability (MP3)

Our lab work was featured in some recent TV News outlets:

• WRFV Local 5 in Green Bay, WI: HealthWatch: Sticky Sea Creatures Close Wounds
• WINK News in Fort Myers, FL: Sticky sea creatures close wounds: from bench to bedside
• WFMZ-TV 69News in Allentown, PA: Health Beat: Sticky sea creatures close wounds: From beach to bedside
• WMC Action News 5 in Memphis, TN: Best Life: Sticky sea creatures close wounds
• Ivanhoe News: Sea Creatures Close Wounds
• ABC 12: Sea creatures helping humans heal

Featured on Futureproof in Ireland, on Newstalk radio:
"Futureproof Extra: Sticky Sea Creatures"

Featured by Curiosityness podcast:
"Sea Creatures Teach us How to Make Glue & It’s More Interesting Than You Think!"

Chemistry World highlighted our most recent JACS paper:
"Cooking chemistry has a taste for making glue"

Purdue Research Foundation News Press Releases:

• "Cooking chemistry minus heat equals new non-toxic adhesive"
• "Your food may help make stickier, safer glues for laptops, packaging, furniture"

Featured by the Adhesives and Sealants Council (ASC) on Adhesives.com:
"Learning from Oysters: Not One, but Two Adhesives"

Mentioned on Assembly Magazine:
"Research on Oysters May Someday Yield New Assembly Adhesive"

Featured on WISH TV News Channel 8 in Indianapolis:
"Purdue researchers create new glue mimicked after sea creatures"

Our Research was featured in Popular Science Magazine:
"Your guide to the practical uses of hagfish slime, glowworm glue and other animal goo"

Design, technology and science website Gizmodo highlighted one of our latest articles:
"Scientists Made the Perfect Underwater Glue by Stealing an Idea from Shellfish"

Nature highlighted our work with underwater adhesives:
"A super-strong underwater glue" (PDF)

C&EN highlighted the antifouling properties of our coatings:
"Antioxidant coating could help reduce marine biofouling"

Allure Magazine highlighted the potential use of our bio-inspired adhesives in the cosmetic industry
Allure Magazine 25th Anniversary Issue, March 2016 

Wired Magazine highlighted the biomedical applications of our work:
"Mussels’ Sticky Secretions Make for Super-Strong Adhesives"

Popular Science Magazine highlighted the impact of our work
"Glue with more mussel - The power of the mollusk"

Nature featured an outlook article highlighting work from our lab:
"Polymers: Secrets from the Deep Sea"
Andrew R. Scott.
Nature 2014, Volume 519, S12-S13

Wired Magazine highlighted some presentations from the 2013 PopTech conference and included one from our lab. "Watch the the Best of PopTech, the TED for Real Thinkers"

Fast Company profiled research in our laboratory
"One Day We'll Fix Everything With Glues Copied from Mussels, Oysters, and Barnacles"

National Public Radio's Morning Edition aired a story describing research in our lab, March 2013.
"Why a Hoosier State Scientist is Stuck on Oysters"

"The Sticking Point"
Article in Nature Medicine about research on the next generation of surgical adhesives.
Article by Elie Dolgin, Nature Medicine. 19, 124-125 (2013)

Jon Wilker joins other ACS members on a trip to Washington for congressional visits on the issue of research funding
Article by Linda Wang, Chemical and Engineering News. Vol 90, Issue 22 p. 55

Profile of our research and Jon Wilker. Part of the "Profiles of 21st Century Chemists" series
Chemistry Now, produced by NBCLearn

To watch the video click here, then click "Glue With Mussels"

A Livescience interview of Jon Wilker, discussing research and what it is like to be a scientist.

Former graduate student Trinity Horton was profiled in Chemical and Engineering News. (August 2010) - ACS Scholars

Jon Wilker discusses oyster cement on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition.

Our paper on oyster cement was highlighted in some recent media outlets. (August 2010)

• New York Times - Special Adhesive Helps Oysters Stick Together
• Chemical and Engineering News - Oysters Use Chemistry To Stick Together
• Chemistry World - Oyster Glue's Secret Ingredient.
• LiveScience's Research in Action - Oysters Build Reefs With Cement
• Nature Materials - Material Witness: Oyster Glue

Scientific American (October 2009) - Scabby Knaves: Barnacles Bind to Ships Using Clotlike Glue

The Splendid Table, produced by American Public Media (August 2009) - Shellfish on Teflon

Science Daily (March 2009) - Shellfish And Inkjet Printers May Hold Key To Faster Healing From Surgeries

Wired (March 2009) - Mussels' Sticky Feet Hold Clues to New Glues

ZDNet (March 2009) - Mussel "glue" and inkjet printers may make for faster healing from surgeries

Purdue University's newspaper, The Exponent (January 2009) - Professor Researches Sea Creatures in Hope of Creating Medical Glue

Radio and Television Interviews

• History Channel, "Modern Marvels: Glue," featured a segment on our lab including an interview with Professor Wilker.
• ABC TV News, broadcast nationally. (March 2004)

Press Releases

• National Science Foundation - Chemists Crack Secrets of Nature's Super Glue
• Purdue University - Purdue Chemist 'Mussels' in on Secrets of Natural Adhesives

Newspaper Articles

• Los Angeles Times - Key to Mussel 'Glue' Is Found to Be Iron
• Baltimore Sun - Grasping Mussel Stick-to-itiveness
• Cape Argus (South Africa) - Iron Key to Mussel Glue
• Die Welt (Germany) - Eisen aus dem Meer lässt Muscheln fest auf Felsen haften
• The Hindu (India) - Aquatic Mussels and Improved Adhesives

Websites

• EurekAlert's Top 10 science stories of 2004 - Chemists Crack Secrets of Nature's Super Glue (see the top 10 list here)
• NewsWise - Chemist 'Mussels' in on Secrets of Natural Adhesives
• Science Daily - Chemists Crack Secrets Of Nature's Super Glue
• Dive News - Purdue Scuba-Diving Chemist Finds Iron is a Key Ingredient in Mussel Adhesive
• Science Blog - Researchers Crack Secrets of Nature's Super Glue
• Slashdot.org - Chemists Crack Secrets of Mussels' Super Glue
• Wissenschaft Online - Warum die miesen Muscheln nicht loslassen
• ScienCentral - Surgery Glue
• A to Z of materials - Mussels and natural adhesives

Journals and Magazines

• Nature - Superglue from the Sea
• Scientific American - Chemists Identify Key Ingredient of Natural 'Superglue'
• Science News - Gooey Secrets of Mussel Power
• Business Week - What's The Sticky Secret Of Mussels?
• Chemical and Engineering News printed a short piece describing our work on marine adhesives. (July 2002).