Biomimetic surface structures in steel fabricated with femtosecond laser pulses: influence of laser rescanning on morphology and wettability

• Camilo Florian Baron,
• Alexandros Mimidis,
• Daniel Puerto,
• Evangelos Skoulas,
• Emmanuel Stratakis,
• Javier Solis and
• Jan Siegel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2802–2812, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.262

• illustrated in Figure 2E. The function of the bug’s micro- and nanostructures is to allow rapid water transport all over its cuticle, which serves as camouflage during rain in their natural environment, changing the bug’s color to make it indistinguishable from the bark of some trees it rests on. Laser-based

• self-organization experiments in steel exploiting spike structure formation upon a single laser scan have been reported in [23], showing good performance for fluid transport applications but less similarity in morphology to the bug cuticle. The results obtained at = 0.2 J/cm2 are shown in Figure 2B

The structural and chemical basis of temporary adhesion in the sea star Asterina gibbosa

• Birgit Lengerer,
• Marie Bonneel,
• Mathilde Lefevre,
• Elise Hennebert,
• Philippe Leclère,
• Emmanuel Gosselin,
• Peter Ladurner and
• Patrick Flammang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2071–2086, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.196

• , nerve strands, and an outer epidermis covered by a thin glycocalyx, the so-called cuticle (Figure 2A). On some histological sections, the adhesive material, also visible on SEM pictures, was preserved on the adhesive epidermis (Figure 2A). As characteristic for reinforced disc-ending tube feet, the disc

• supportive cells and their microvilli collar prevented the animals from attaching themselves [37][41]. In asteroids, the area of attachment is an order of magnitude larger and completely covered by normal and specialized microvilli. The microvilli are embedded in a cuticle, which is poorly preserved in

Review on nanoparticles and nanostructured materials: history, sources, toxicity and regulations

• Jaison Jeevanandam,
• Ahmed Barhoum,
• Yen S. Chan,
• Alain Dufresne and
• Michael K. Danquah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1050–1074, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.98

• sophisticated fractal and layered cuticle patterns possess superhydrophobic properties. These structural types are composed of the hierarchical structure which may be responsible for increasing the surface hydrophobicity [194]. Moreover, the colors of butterflies are attributed to their fine wing structure

Bioinspired self-healing materials: lessons from nature

• Joseph C. Cremaldi and
• Bharat Bhushan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 907–935, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.85

• . Invertebrates have a very similar innate immune response. In comparison to the skin, hair, or feathers of vertebrates, invertebrate physical barriers mainly consist of an exoskeleton such as mollusk cockle, sea urchin test, and arthropod cuticle. In the absence of an exoskeleton (e.g., an octopus), barriers

• typically from chitin, cuticle (a chitin–protein composite material), or calcium carbonate [67]. Figure 5A shows the various layers that compose the epidermis and exoskeleton [68]. Secretion of exoskeletal material adds to the exoskeleton’s thickness, growing the exoskeleton from within [26]. This very

• previous section, exoskeleton material is secreted onto the inner surface of the exoskeleton from the cellular epidermis. Using cuticle as an example of exoskeletal material, the mechanism for growth is for these cuticle secretions to form layers differing in rigidity and maturity. Once the inner layers

Kinetics of solvent supported tubule formation of Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) wax on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) investigated by atomic force microscopy

• Sujit Kumar Dora,
• Kerstin Koch,
• Wilhelm Barthlott and
• Klaus Wandelt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 468–481, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.45

• ; crystallization; epicuticular wax; Lotus; Nelumbo nucifera; nonacosanol tubules; self-assembly; superhydrophobic; Introduction The plant cuticle, a cutin matrix embedded and covered by waxes provides a multitasking interface between plant and environment [1]. These waxes are either reside within the cutin layer

• (intracuticular wax) or deposited over the cutin surface (epicuticular wax) of primary plant organs. Being the first point of contact between plants and environment, the cuticle provides protection against water loss and external environmental stresses. Other important functions include control of transpiration

• concentration of wax molecules in the applied solution and the presence of any foreign substances, e.g., water or salts in the wax solution. In plants, the transport of wax molecules from the location of synthesis inside the cells onto the cuticle is discussed as co-transport of the wax components with water

Surfactant-induced enhancement of droplet adhesion in superhydrophobic soybean (Glycine max L.) leaves

• Oliver Hagedorn,
• Ingo Fleute-Schlachter,
• Hans Georg Mainx,
• Viktoria Zeisler-Diehl and
• Kerstin Koch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2345–2356, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.234

• reduction of the epicuticular wax structures and a change from Cassie–Baxter wetting to an intermediate wetting regime with an increase of droplet adhesion. Keywords: droplet adhesion; epicuticular wax; Glycine max L; superhydrophobic; surfactants; Introduction The cuticle, as the outermost layer of

• mechanical stability [5]. Furthermore, the cuticle interacts with its biotic environment and plays a crucial role for insect signaling [6] and insect attachment [7][8][9]. The leaf surfaces are composed of epidermis cells covered by a cuticle, which is a continuous extracellular membrane on primary plant

• ]. Epicuticular wax can either appear as a flat film covering the cuticle, or as a three-dimensional wax structure of various shapes having crystalline structure [15][16]. Cuticular wax, as defined in biology, represents a mixture of long-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as alkanes, aldehydes, primary alcohols

Collembola cuticles and the three-phase line tension

• Håkon Gundersen,
• Hans Petter Leinaas and
• Christian Thaulow

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1714–1722, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.172

• scale [5]; this makes Collembola cuticle structures easily reproducible, as well as more resilient against mechanical wear [7]. While the water repellency of Collembola has long been described in general, macroscopic terms, a specific mechanical explanation has been lacking. Cassie and Baxter described

• partial wetting state where only granule tops are wetted can be approximated by simple tessellating patterns. The repeating unit is a three-sided prism, surrounded by a triangular open space, for approximately hexagonal cuticle patterns. For approximately rhombic cuticle patterns, the repeating unit is a

• becomes dependent on the size scale when the area-to-perimeter ratio (S) of surface features is included. The magnitude of the size-scale dependency is determined by the three-phase line tension (λ). The exact magnitude of λ is not known for the Collembola cuticle, water, air three-phase system. Zheng’s

Biological and biomimetic materials and surfaces

• Stanislav Gorb and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 403–407, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.42

• siliceous teeth consist of composite materials with silica-based cap-like structures situated on chitin-bearing cuticle sockets that are connected through flexible resilient areas containing resilin protein. This composite architecture contributes to the performance of the siliceous teeth in damaging

Structural and tribometric characterization of biomimetically inspired synthetic "insect adhesives"

• Matthias W. Speidel,
• Malte Kleemeier,
• Andreas Hartwig,
• Klaus Rischka,
• Angelika Ellermann,
• Rolf Daniels and
• Oliver Betz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 45–63, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.6

• certainly attributable to the high-melting temperature of octacosane (>60 °C). Such colloidal suspension-like behaviour corresponds well to the assumed nature of the outer lipid layer of the insect cuticle [4][28][39][40] and can also be assumed for insect tarsal adhesives being mere derivatives of the

• outer free lipid layer of the general body cuticle [41][42][43]. Such mixtures of high-melting straight n-alkanes with low-melting alkenes or methyl-branched alkanes keep the suspensions in a semi-solid condition over a broad range of temperatures. The in situ phase differentiation of alkanes and

• emulsions. Because of their small quantities, only a few attempts have been undertaken, to date, to determine the adhesive stress of insect tarsal adhesives in isolation from their underlying cuticle [5][46]. Moreover, to our knowledge, no attempts have as yet been undertaken to quantify the portion that

Influence of ambient humidity on the attachment ability of ladybird beetles (Coccinella septempunctata)

• Lars Heepe,
• Jonas O. Wolff and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1322–1329, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.123

• ) humidity-dependent material properties of insect cuticle and β-keratin (main constituent of gecko setae) [41][42][43][44]. In geckos, the effect of a RH on viscoelastic properties of the setal shaft was shown [13]. It was argued that with an increasing humidity the viscoelastic bulk energy dissipation

Functional diversity of resilin in Arthropoda

• Jan Michels,
• Esther Appel and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1241–1259, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.115

• resembling resilin. In such cases, it is conceivable that the respective exoskeleton material consists either of a protein with properties that are similar to those of resilin or of a mixture of resilin and other proteins. For exoskeleton structures with such properties, the term ‘transitional cuticle’ was

• and membranous areas of insect wings [21][22][24], the food-pump of reduviid bugs [51], tymbal sound production organs of cicadas [52][53] and moths [54], abdominal cuticle of honey ant workers [55] and termite queens [56], the fulcral arms of the poison apparatus of ants [57] and the tendons of

• dragonfly flight muscles and basal wing joints of locusts (as already mentioned above) [5]. In the following, some selected representative structures and systems with large proportions of resilin are highlighted, and their functions are described. Arthrodial membranes Arthrodial membranes are cuticle areas

Physical principles of fluid-mediated insect attachment - Shouldn’t insects slip?

• Jan-Henning Dirks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1160–1166, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.127

• . These terminal elements can vary in shape and size, even within one tarsus or between the sexes of one species [23]. Recently it has been shown that in beetles the setae show a decreasing stiffness of the cuticle towards the tip of the setae [24]. Similar “hairy” structures can be found in many other

Insect attachment on crystalline bioinspired wax surfaces formed by alkanes of varying chain lengths

• Elena Gorb,
• Sandro Böhm,
• Nadine Jacky,
• Louis-Philippe Maier,
• Kirstin Dening,
• Sasha Pechook,
• Boaz Pokroy and
• Stanislav Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1031–1041, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.116

• some types of trichomes, acting mainly at the macroscopic level, hinder the interlocking of insect claws. Additionally, plant-produced wet films on the surface, microscopic cuticular folds and epicuticular (deposited onto the plant cuticle) wax crystals reduce the adhesion of insect attachment pads

• (reviews [11][12]). In the present study, we consider the effect of wax crystal dimension on insect attachment. Three-dimensional projections, called wax crystals throughout the text, emerge from a two-dimensional film of cuticular lipids (waxes), representing the hydrophobic component of the plant cuticle

Fibrillar adhesion with no clusterisation: Functional significance of material gradient along adhesive setae of insects

• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Alexander E. Filippov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 837–845, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.95

• various lineages of arthropods. Keywords: adhesion; attachment; biomechanics; computer modelling; cuticle; locomotion; material; surface; Introduction The contact formation of insect adhesive pads on various substrates depends on the pad ability to adapt to different surface topographies. The quality of

• from 1.2 MPa at the tip [12] to 6.8 GPa at the base. At the setal tip, we revealed the rubber-like protein resilin in rather high concentrations [13][14], whereas at the base of the seta the sclerotised cuticle is dominating. Between tip and the base, there is a gradient of material composition

• . This has been previously shown for insect cuticle [24][25], snake skin [26], human teeth [27][28], and other biological composites. The gradients have been also recently reported for smooth attachment devices of insects [29]. Interestingly, the gradients in smooth pads of locusts and bushcrickets are

Impact of cell shape in hierarchically structured plant surfaces on the attachment of male Colorado potato beetles (Leptinotarsa decemlineata)

• Bettina Prüm,
• Robin Seidel,
• Holger Florian Bohn and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 57–64, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.7

• interaction; papillae; structure–function relationship; Introduction In plants the cuticle constitutes the outermost layer of the plant body and provides the direct interface to the environment. The cuticle is known to show multifaceted surface structuring and to serve different functions. Besides

• stabilisation of the plant tissue and reduction of uncontrolled water loss by providing a transport barrier, the cuticle, e.g., influences surface wetting and sometimes allows for self-cleaning by draining of water. Furthermore, the cuticle can provide protection against harmful radiation, influences the

Hierarchically structured superhydrophobic flowers with low hysteresis of the wild pansy (Viola tricolor) – new design principles for biomimetic materials

• Anna J. Schulte,
• Damian M. Droste,
• Kerstin Koch and
• Wilhelm Barthlott

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 228–236, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.27

• , all uncoated polymer replicas feature a lower CA than their biological model and thus did not show the same wetting behavior. This suggests that the replica material is more hydrophobic than the cuticle of the Cosmos petal and more hydrophilic than the cuticles of the other species investigated. The

• surfaces, the micropapillae with wax crystals [6] and micropapillae with cuticle folds. Some remarkable differences exist between the surface architecture of the lotus leaf and Viola petals. In Viola petals microstructures are larger (average height of 40.2 µm) than those of lotus leaves, which have

Sorting of droplets by migration on structured surfaces

• Wilfried Konrad and
• Anita Roth-Nebelsick

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 215–221, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.25

• achieved. For example, different chemical reactants can be directed to different “assembly” lines. Also the speed of the droplets can be controlled. Surfaces similar to our patterns are not uncommon in nature. Insects show a wide variety of ornamentations of their cuticle, their compound eyes and wings [10

Infrared receptors in pyrophilous (“fire loving”) insects as model for new un-cooled infrared sensors

• David Klocke,
• Anke Schmitz,
• Helmut Soltner,
• Herbert Bousack and
• Helmut Schmitz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 186–197, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.22

• hemispherical dome with a diameter of about 12–15 µm. The dome consists of a thin cuticle, which represents the outer boundary of a spherical internal cavity. The cavity is almost completely filled with a tiny cuticular sphere with a diameter of about 10 µm (Figure 2A and Figure 2B). Based on transmission