Figure 1.

Preparation and characterization of the SUP‐surfactant coacervate glues. A) Schematic for the expression of supercharged polypeptides (SUPs) (K72, K108, and E36, E72, E144) and (B) chemical structures of different DOPA‐based surfactants (NDP, BnNDP, PDD, PDO, and PDH) and azo‐based surfactant (NAT). The SUP glues were prepared via electrostatic complexation of the SUP and the respective surfactants. C) Photograph of SUP‐NDP adhesive. An elastic, sticky thread can be stretched between two fingers with freshly prepared protein‐based coacervates. Here, K108‐NDP was used as a representative example. D) Photograph showing two smooth glass bottles adhered together by the SUP glue and bearing a load of 600 g. The inset is a zoom‐in of the contact area of the K108‐NAT glue connecting the two smooth glass bottoms of the bottles.