High-Performance Bio-Glue From the Berries of a Parasitic Plant.

Abstract

Most commercial adhesives are still petroleum-based. Despite extensive efforts to develop sustainable alternatives, bio-based adhesives often require chemical modification of their components, or they fail to achieve rapid, high-performance bonding. Here, we report a fully bio-based adhesive derived primarily from a (poly)saccharide extract obtained from the berries of the hemi-parasitic plant mistletoe (Viscum album). This (poly)saccharide extract is supplemented with tannic and malic acid without any further chemical functionalization. Through a combination of heat-treatment and rapid curing, the developed adhesive exhibits remarkable bonding strength across diverse substrates-including various types of wood and metal, glass, and polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon)-and under various conditions. Furthermore, if samples are separated by force, the remaining adhesive layers can be reactivated via heat-treatment to allow for efficient re-bonding of the adherends. The fully bio-based formulation not only enables multiple repair cycles but also valorizes a parasitic plant, thereby serving as an eco-friendly, high-performance alternative to petroleum-derived adhesives.