Natural nanofibers embedded in the seed mucilage envelope: composite hydrogels with specific adhesive and frictional properties

• Agnieszka Kreitschitz and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1603–1618, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.126

• atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), SEM, or cryo-SEM [45][57][63][64][65][66]. Very often, the procedures for preparing mucilage envelope samples can destroy and/or influence the organisation of polysaccharides, making the analysis of spatial structure of the mucilage

Comparative analysis of the ultrastructure and adhesive secretion pathways of different smooth attachment pads of the stick insect Medauroidea extradentata (Phasmatodea)

• Julian Thomas,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Thies H. Büscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 612–630, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.52

• . extradentata using cryo-SEM revealed different structures that the fluid can adopt, as well as slight differences between those of arolium and euplantulae [38]. It was postulated that these structures arise due to different mixing ratios of the fluid, and that the fluid can therefore fulfil different functions

Insect attachment on waxy plant surfaces: the effect of pad contamination by different waxes

• Elena V. Gorb and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 385–395, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.35

• ], where cryo-SEM was applied for the examination of plant surfaces, these projections were considered as round or angular tubules with dendrite-like branches on their tops. In the present study, we follow the latter opinion and treat B. oleracea wax projections as tubules bearing apical filamentous

The origin of black and white coloration of the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

• Manuela Rebora,
• Gianandrea Salerno,
• Silvana Piersanti,
• Alexander Kovalev and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 496–508, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.41

• , and with an excitation filter 546 nm, chromatic beam splitter FT 580 nm, emission 590 nm. Insect legs were removed from the insects and placed on a microscope slide for observations. Scanning electron microscopy and cryo-SEM Dry insects were observed in a scanning electron microscope Hitachi S-4800

• (Hitachi High-Technologies Corp., Tokyo, Japan) at 3 kV acceleration voltage. Specimens were sputter-coated with gold/palladium (10 nm layer thickness). In a similar manner to a procedure from [33], for cryo-SEM, insect samples were either glued with Tissue-Tek® O.C.T.TM Compound (Sakura® Finetek Europe

• which is totally white. Ti, tibia. Aedes albopictus (female) in a cryo-SEM. (a) Lateral view of the thorax of Ae. albopictus covered with scales and microtrichia. (b) Detail of (a) showing microtrichia (M) and scales (S) with their articulated insertion (arrow) in the cuticle. (c–g) Scales with

Interaction between honeybee mandibles and propolis

• Leonie Saccardi,
• Franz Brümmer,
• Jonas Schiebl,
• Oliver Schwarz,
• Alexander Kovalev and
• Stanislav Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 958–974, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.84

• bees were studied in the cryo-SEM in the frozen state so the resin contaminations did not dry out. They were placed on holders (medial surface up), rapidly frozen on the table in the preparation chamber at −140 °C, sputter coated with gold palladium (3 nm), and studied at −120 °C with a cryoSEM

• to reduce adhesion [16]. Therefore, fresh, untreated bee mandibles were studied in the frozen state, as cryo-SEM has been reported to be a successful method for visualizing biological fluids such as lipids and water-based solutions [26]. Cryo-SEM was performed as described in section “Surface

• structures on propolis bee mandibles”. Additionally, visualization of the mandible cuticle and any additional surface layers was performed using cryo-SEM on fresh fractures of untreated bee mandibles. Mandibles were tightly clamped into a metal holder and frozen in the preparation chamber (−140 °C). The

Hierachical epicuticular wax coverage on leaves of Deschampsia antarctica as a possible adaptation to severe environmental conditions

• Elena V. Gorb,
• Iryna A. Kozeretska and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 807–816, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.71

• hierarchical structure of the wax coverage on both leaf surfaces is described in D. antarctica for the first time. Keywords: cryo-SEM; microstructure; plant; surface; wax projection; Introduction The Antarctic hair grass Deschampsia antarctica É. Desv. (Poaceae) is one of the only two flowering plants native

• . antarctica plant, which are usually exposed to the environment, using cryo scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM) allowing for a high-resolution imaging of frozen and fractured samples in native condition, that is, without treatment in strong solvents, such as ethanol or acetone, usually needed in the

• , Wetzlar, Germany). For cryo-SEM, we used either entire structures (glume and ligule) or small pieces (ca. 1 cm long for pedicle and ca. 1 cm2 for other samples) cut out with a razor blade from the plant. All surfaces were examined in the native state. Additionally, the leaf blade surfaces were studied

Physical constraints lead to parallel evolution of micro- and nanostructures of animal adhesive pads: a review

• Thies H. Büscher and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 725–743, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.57

• setae of C. vicina. The fly leg was frozen in contact with smooth glass, carefully removed, and the fluid residues were viewed in cryo-SEM (Figure 8B is from [241] and was adapted by permission from Springer Nature from “Biological fibrillar adhesives: functional principles and biomimetic applications

Bio-imaging with the helium-ion microscope: A review

• Matthias Schmidt,
• James M. Byrne and
• Ilari J. Maasilta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1–23, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.1

• Souza and Attias nicely placed HIM imaging in the context of high-resolution SEM, environmental SEM, cryo-SEM, the usage of cyto-chemistry, and 3D reconstruction with focused ion beam SEM and TEM [85]. Biofilms The large depth of field, the efficient charge compensation and the strong edge contrast make

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

• (Nelumbo nucifera), the leaf surface of Glycine max L. does not show self-cleaning properties, which are generally indicated by low tilting angle or low contact angle hysteresis. Cryo-SEM investigations showed that droplets of a water–glycerol mixture are in the Cassie–Baxter wetting regime with only

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

• adhesives principles. In total, we prepared 12 synthetic "insect" emulsions that were structurally characterized by microscopic techniques such as bright field, fluorescence and cryo-scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM) and laser diffraction particle size analysis. Parameters of particular interest were

• structural parameters of each emulsion as revealed by bright field/fluorescence microscopy and cryo-scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In general, the droplet sizes determined by the various methods, such as bright field/fluorescence microscopy and cryo-SEM, were in good correspondence, except for the

• larger size range of droplets as shown by the bright field/fluorescence microscopic images in comparison with those by cryo-SEM. The microscopic analyses revealed that the first generation provided a broader droplet size range with extremely large individual droplets leading to platykurtic kurtosis

Overview about the localization of nanoparticles in tissue and cellular context by different imaging techniques

• Anja Ostrowski,
• Daniel Nordmeyer,
• Alexander Boreham,
• Cornelia Holzhausen,
• Lars Mundhenk,
• Christina Graf,
• Martina C. Meinke,
• Annika Vogt,
• Sabrina Hadam,
• Jürgen Lademann,
• Eckart Rühl,
• Ulrike Alexiev and
• Achim D. Gruber

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 263–280, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.25

• cells and tissues as described for TEM. To overcome this problem, a combination of fast-freezing techniques such as high-pressure and plunge freezing has been used for the ultrastructural examination of skin and other organs without such artifacts [161][181][182]. In addition, cryo-SEM has also been

From sticky to slippery: Biological and biologically-inspired adhesion and friction

• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Kerstin Koch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1450–1451, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.157

• . Modern experimental approaches combine a variety of microscopy methods, such as light microscopy, white-light interferometry, TEM, SEM, cryo-SEM, and AFM, with force measurement techniques at the macro-, micro- and especially at the nanoscale. This Thematic Series is a collection of experimental and

The effect of surface anisotropy in the slippery zone of Nepenthes alata pitchers on beetle attachment

• Elena V. Gorb and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 302–310, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.35

• -Technologies Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) equipped with a cryo-preparation system (Gatan ALTO 2500 cryo-preparation system, Gatan Inc., Abingdon, UK). The cryo-SEM method employed for studying intact pitcher samples was previously introduced in detail [24]. De-waxed pitcher samples and their polymer replicas

• Wilcoxon signed rank test (software SigmaStat® 3.1.1). Cryo-SEM micrographs of intact Nepenthes alata pitchers (A, D) and SEM micrographs of de-waxed pitcher samples (B, E) and their polymer replicas (C, F) used for traction experiments. LC: lunate cells; WC: wax crystals. White arrows indicate direction

• to the pitcher bottom. Scale bars = 50 μm (A–C), 2 μm (D), 10 μm (E, F). Morphometrical variables and distribution of lunate cells measured in SEM micrograph of a de-waxed surface (A) and cryo-SEM micrographs of an intact surface (B, C) of the slippery zone in Nepenthes alata pitchers: α = 19.53

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

• higher standard deviation of the micropapillae height is correlated to a large reduction in papilla contact with the applied water droplet. Cryo-SEM-investigations (Figure 6) indicated that smaller micropapillae are not in contact with the applied liquid. Thus, cell height variations further decrease the

• require special preparation. All samples were sputter-coated with a 30 nm gold layer (Balzers Union SCD 040, Balzers–Pfeifer GmbH, Aßlar) prior to SEM investigations. Cryo-SEM examinations To display an applied droplet in contact with the petal surface, the Cryo-SEM method, developed by Ensikat et al. [18

• (uncoated and coated flat polymer; n = 10). Cryo-SEM micrograph of the micropapillae of a Viola petal in contact with the surface of a water-glycerol droplet. Many micropapillae are not in contact with the droplet surface (a) while others are in contact with the droplet surface (b). Micropapillae