Barnacles have long attracted the attention of antfouling- and bioadhesion-focused researchers, however, most activity has been dominated by investigations of adult barnacles and their adhesion mechanism. Adult barnacles are specialists in adhering tenaciously to all manner of immersed surfaces, making their adhesive proteins interesting models for synthetic 'bio-inspired' glues. They are also the obvious culmination of the colonization of anthropogenic surfaces in the marine environment (biofouling) and are therefore targeted by many contemporary antifouling products. An argument can be made, however, that the cyprid, or settlement-stage larva of barnacles, is equally important if not more so. The cyprid is supremely adapted for selecting and adhering to surfaces that are optimal for growth and survival to adulthood. The cyprid has two separate adhesion mechanisms, one temporary and one permanent, that are apparently different to the adult adhesion system. Cyprids explore surfaces prior to settlement using a pair of stilt-like antennules. The temporary adhesive bond produced during this exploration process is tenacious, rapidly reversible and mediated by a complex adhesion system involving the morphology of the attachment discs, a liquid proteinaceous secretion and specific attachment and detachment behaviors. Our research aims to elucidate this system using a diverse range of techniques from atomic force microscopy of the temporary adhesive, to high-speed photography of attachment behavior and 3D tracking/imaging surface plasmon resonance of attachment events. Once a cyprid has selected an appropriate settlement site, it attaches permanently. The permanent attachment mechanism is almost entirely unknown, however novel insights provided by confocal microscopy-based contact angle goniometry of the adhesive on model surfaces suggest that the permanent adhesion process is no less complex than that of temporary adhesion. Either of these stages would be logical points if intervention for novel, environmentally benign, antifouling strategies and improvement of our knowledge surrounding them is therefore paramount.

Multi-scale characterization of barnacle adhesive interfaces

245th National Meeting (2013)

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