Barnacles and Their Many Uses

Did you know that Barnacles are crustaceans?

That’s right, those knobbly lumps you find on rocks around the coast are actually related to crabs. These animals are non-mobile, exclusively marine and open up when submerged to draw in bits of food that are floating in the water.

Generally they are connected to surfaces by their heads, using what’s called a cement gland. Glued to the surface they dangle upside down with their feet hanging out.

They do not have a heart to speak of and blood is pumped around the major muscles by a sinus near their oesophagus. Similarly they do not have lungs or gills but breathe by absorbing oxygen through their limbs.

However it is the glue that they use to stick themselves to the surface that we are interested in. Scientists at MIT have been researching this sticky goop and looking for ways to apply the natural world to human problems.

In this case, the scientists were looking for ways to stop blood-loss in traumatic bleeding events which is the second leading cause of death in the general population. One of the major issues with sealing bleeding wounds is that the wetness of blood resists being stuck together.

They found by looking at the barnacle’s cement gland, that the sticky protein produced is suspended in an oil which repels water. This finding explains how barnacles glue themselves in marine environments and also offered a solution to their problem.

By taking this barnacle method, combining it with a glue they had previously developed, adding crab-based organic polymer Chitosan, and suspending it in a silicone oil - they devised a glue that could bind bleeding wounds in 15 seconds.

The glue lasts several weeks before it is reabsorbed by the body allowing the tissue underneath to heal of its own accord.

The team, who are currently busy cutting open pigs and then gluing up their wounds, are hoping that once its benefits have been proven, this barnacle inspired treatment may save countless lives.

If you are, like any reasonable person, troubled by the ethics of this, the project is part funded by the terrifyingly named US Military Department, ‘Soldier Nanotechnologies’ so go figure if they care.

P.C: Mark Wilson