USA as Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Kathryn J Wahl

Christopher R So

Walter J Dressick

Nabil D Bassim

Dmitri Y Petrovykh

Rhonda Michelle Stroud

Ronald L Holtz

John D Sethian

Frank Hegeler

Matthew C Myers

Mathew Wolford

Derek Horton

Alexis C Lewis

Peptides that form adhesive bonds, even in aqueous and/or saline environments, are disclosed. When aggregated, the peptides may be used in methods for producing hydrogels and/or adhesive materials. Synthetic peptide analogs are provided that are designed based on protein sequences found in barnacle adhesive, and may optionally be augmented with chemistry from other organisms that secrete proteins that adhere to substrates. The peptides may be used, for example, in biomedical and aqueous applications. Methods of using the aggregated peptides as adhesives are also provided.

Wet adhesive peptides

Wet adhesive peptide materials and their use

A method, and an article made therefrom, of: contacting a substrate with a first solution of a first polyelectrolyte polymer to form a layer of the first polyelectrolyte polymer on the substrate; and contacting the layer of the first polyelectrolyte polymer with a second solution of a second polyelectrolyte polymer to form a layer of the second polyelectrolyte polymer on the layer of the first polyelectrolyte polymer. The first polyelectrolyte is a polyanion or polycation polymer. The second polyelectrolyte is a polyanion or polycation polymer of a charge opposite to that of the first polyelectrolyte polymer. At least one of the first solution or the second solution is an aggregate-forming solution comprising an ionic species having at least two discrete sites of a charge opposite to that of the polyelectrolyte polymer in the aggregate-forming solution. The ionic species forms, via bridging interactions, aggregates of the polyelectrolyte polymer that remain intact in the aggregate-forming solution during the contact and layer formation.

Polyelectrolyte multilayers having salt-controlled internal structures

A method, and an article made therefrom, of: contacting a substrate with a first solution of first polyelectrolyte chains to form a layer of the first polyelectrolyte on the substrate; and contacting the layer of the first polyelectrolyte with a second solution of second polyelectrolyte chains to form a layer of the second polyelectrolyte. The first polyelectrolyte has a polyanion or polycation chain. The second polyelectrolyte has a polyanion or polycation chain of a charge opposite to that of the first polyelectrolyte. The first solution or the second solution is an aggregate-forming solution comprising an ionic species having at least two discrete sites of a charge opposite to that of the polyelectrolyte chains in the aggregate-forming solution. The ionic species forms, via bridging interactions, aggregates of the polyelectrolyte chains that remain intact in the aggregate-forming solution during the contact.

A method for desensitizing an aluminum alloy is presented. A desired location on the surface of an aluminum alloy sample is exposed to a controlled pulsed electron beam. The pulsed electron beam heats a shallow layer of the metal alloy having a desired depth at the desired location on the surface of the sample to a temperature between a solvus temperature and an annealing temperature of the metal alloy to controllably reduce a degree of sensitization of the metal alloy sample at the desired location, an extent of a reduction in the degree of sensitization being controllable by varying at least one of a voltage, a current density, a pulse duration, a pulse frequency and a number of pulses of the electron beam.

Desensitization of aluminum alloys using pulsed electron beams

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Alexandria, VA, United States of America

Kathryn J Wahl