Michelle Fisher and Gill Geesey MSU scientist puts bacteria to work in glue by Evelyn Boswell Gill Geesey has traveled to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to collect bacteria from the edge of volcanic vents. He's gone into a two-mile free fall to explore an area of the ocean called the Snake Pit. Now the Montana State University microbiologist has plunged into a different world that also holds excitement. It's a sticky little world where bacteria make glue, and the glue has potential as a carpenter's glue. The glue so far looks like a slightly runny version of Rubber Cement and can hold over 3,000 pounds per square inch. That's not a super-glue, but it's a super achievement to Geesey. "That makes it a very competitive product with what's out there," Geesey said. Geesey can't divulge the kind of bacteria that produced the glue or where it's found. He did say that MSU's glue is different from most other glues because everything in it is made from renewable resources, and it contains no toxic substances. Although some animal product-based glues are returning to the market for special applications, bacterial-derived glues can be produced more economically. "There are no glues out there that have that a combination of features," Geesey said. "Some synthetic glues now produced have little or no toxicity, but they all contain ingredients made from petroleum products that are nonrenewable." Geesey has received all sorts of suggestions for the name of the glue when it's ready for market. "Bio-bond" is one. "Gill-glue" could be another. But Geesey is more interested now in finding a way to make the bond remain strong in high humidity. "Right now, if we glue something together and just let it sit at room conditions in Montana, it will retain its strength," Geesey said. "But if we take it down to New Orleans, it would lose its strength. We're trying to come up with something we can add to the glue that will give it moisture resistance." A market survey has been conducted to find out the best use for the glue, Geesey said. The survey was funded with money from MSU's TechLink Center. "There are so many different uses of adhesives out there. The challenge is to match the property of your adhesive with the specifications of a particular application," Geesey said. The great glue quest began three or four years ago as a federally-funded project. After he became in charge, Geesey received support from the Montana Board of Commercialization and Technology Transfer, a state-supported program through the Department of Commerce. Geesey and his partner, Marc Mittleman, formed Specialty Biopolymers Corp. (SBC) to commercialize this and other polymers produced by bacteria and to create new jobs in the state. Currently, SBC supports five Ph.D. scientists and a technician. Among those recently hired was Michelle Fisher, '03 BioS. "You'd never think you'd be using your major for making wood glue," Fisher said. "It shows there's a lot of different areas in which you can use your major."