| AVS 58th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition | |
| Marine Biofouling Focus Topic | Monday Sessions |
| Session MB-MoM |
| Session: | Interfacial Aspects of Marine Biofouling |
| Presenter: | Daniel Burden, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |
| Authors: | D.K. Burden, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory D.E. Barlow, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory B. Orihuela, Duke University Marine Laboratory D. Rittschof, Duke University Marine Laboratory K.J. Wahl, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Marine organisms attach themselves to a wide variety of submerged surfaces. The barnacle is one of the most pervasive and persistent species to do so, securing itself by forming a thin film of permanent proteinaceous adhesive. For hard-shelled acorn barnacles like Balanus amphitrite, this process involves the recurring sequential release of two major secretions at the adhesive interface. We show that as the barnacle grows laterally, one of these cement precursor solutions, CPS1, is released on a fairly continuous basis, while the other, CPS2, is released cyclically. By utilizing the differences in secretion patterns, we have begun to deconvolve the contributions of these cement precursors to adhesion. Barnacles were resettled on CaF2 substrates and release of the components at the interfaces was distinguished by optical and fluorescence microscopy. Shear detachment measurements of resettled barnacles showed that the release of CPS2 into the interface corresponded with a roughly twofold increase in adhesion versus CPS1 alone. AFM and FTIR also showed distinct differences in morphology, protein conformation, and chemical functionality for the CPS mixture versus CPS1. Possible ways in which the two components contribute to barnacle adhesion will be discussed based on these results.