Charles sent me the link to the Grand Central of adhesives — a quite remarkable resource whenever one needs to stick “this” to “that other stuff”.
For those seeking a real adhesive challenge, consider the non-destructive crayfish gluing problem.
…What we need to do is glue the carapace of live adult crayfish to the inside of a plastic Nalgene centrifuge tube, which will then be placed inside a tiny (3.7cm) custom-made fMRI coil. We have to glue them in because if the animal moves at all, the image will be blurred. We might also be gluing the animals’ eyestalks in place because if they move, the brain moves.
Here’s the catch: because adult crayfish of the biggest size are difficult to grow, expensive to obtain, and rather endearing once you get to know them, we’d like to be able to dissolve the glue once we’re done so that the crayfish can be re-used, go on living their little crayfish lives, etc. So we need a glue that dries fast, won’t dissolve in water, is relatively nontoxic, and can be dissolved by a relatively nontoxic solvent. Any ideas?
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