Bio-Inspired Breakthrough in Underwater Adhesion Opens New Frontiers in Medical Sensing and Drug Delivery
Size comparison between a commercial Smartrac RFID temperature tag (by Avery Dennison) and the MUSAS RFID temperature sensor. (Scale bar: 5 mm.)
Inspired by the natural suction disc of remora or “suckerfish,” researchers at Mass General Brigham, Broad Institute and Boston College have engineered a miniature adhesion system that can adhere to difficult-to-stick-to surfaces, such as the soft, wet, and regenerating tissues of the gastrointestinal tract. The device, which they call “MUSAS” (Mechanical Underwater Soft Adhesion System), could be integrated with other technology to monitor conditions such as gastrointestinal reflux and IBD, or to precisely deliver slow-release drugs and vaccines. Their results are published in Nature.
“MUSAS is potentially transformative for minimally invasive medicine,” said senior author Giovanni Traverso, MB, BChir, PhD, of the Division of Gastroenterology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system. “By enabling devices to securely adhere to soft tissues for extended periods, MUSAS overcomes major challenges in underwater adhesion and could reduce the need for invasive procedures while improving patient outcomes in areas like chronic disease management and targeted therapies.”
The dime-sized devices are made of silicone rubber and have a series of flexible, interlocking plates on their undersides which allow them to form a vacuum-like seal against differently textured and moving surfaces. Their performance is not impeded by moisture or acidity.
MUSAS’ design was inspired by remora fish, whose modified dorsal fins act as suction caps that allow them to adhere to larger hosts, such as sharks, whales, turtles, and boats. To inform MUSAS’ design, the researchers compared the adhesive fins of several different species of remora fish in the lab. Through a series of experiments in the lab, the team tested several applications for MUSAS, including continuous monitoring of acid reflux and slow-release drug delivery in pigs, and more.
"With its unique mechanical approach for adhering to soft surfaces under extreme conditions, MUSAS could open new frontiers in bioadhesion, soft robotics and electronics, as well as precision medicine and health monitoring,” said lead author Ziliang (Troy) Kang, PhD, a former research fellow at BWH. Kang is now a research scientist at MIT.
Authorship: In addition to Traverso, Mass General Brigham authors include Ziliang Kang, Johanna A. Gomez, Alisa MeiShan Ross, Ameya R. Kirtane, Ming Zhao, Fu Xing Chen, Corona L. Chen, Isaac Diaz Becdach, Rajib Dey, Andrei Russel Ismael, Injoo Moon, Yiyuan Yang, Benjamin N. Muller, Mehmet G. Say, Andrew Pettinari, Jason Kobrin, Joshua Morimoto, Ted Smierciak, Aaron Lopes, Ayten Ebru Erdogan, Matt Murphy, Niora Fabian, Ashley Guevara, Benedict Laidlaw, Kailyn Schmidt, and Alison M. Hayward, Yubin Cai, Christopher P. Kenaley, and Alexandra H. Techet.
Disclosures: Kang, Traverso, Kirtane, Zhao, and Cai are co-inventors on a patent application describing the system reported in the paper (US Provisional Application No. 63/702,561). Complete details of all relationships for profit and not for profit for Traverso can be found at the provided Dropbox link. The other authors declare no competing interests.
Funding: This study was funded in part by the Gates Foundation (INV-002177), the Karl van Tassel (1925) Career Development Professorship, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Division of Gastroenterology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) (D24AC00040-00). Additionally, Kenaley received support from the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, Boston College, and Say was supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW 2021.0317).
Paper cited: Kang, Z et al. “Mechanical underwater adhesive devices for soft substrates” Nature DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09304-4
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