US Patent Issued to The Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy on Dec. 16 for "Underwater adhesives formed by aggregation of free proteins into amyloid materials" (Virginia Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,497,550, issued on Dec. 16, was assigned to The Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy (Arlington, Va.).

"Underwater adhesives formed by aggregation of free proteins into amyloid materials" was invented by Christopher R. So (Alexandria, Va.) and Michael C. Wilson (Alexandria, Va.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Adhesive formulations comprising bovine serum albumin, b-lactoglobulin, and/or a-lactalbumin can be applied and cured underwater to form a strong adhesive. Curing can be accomplished using heat or via a chemical denaturing component."

The patent was filed on Sept. 15, 2023, under Ap...