Ultrablack color in velvet ant cuticle

• Vinicius Marques Lopez,
• Wencke Krings,
• Juliana Reis Machado,
• Stanislav Gorb and
• Rhainer Guillermo-Ferreira

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1554–1565, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.122

• resilin [18]. Insect cuticle with protein-dominated regions, which can include resilin, an elastic protein present in arthropod cuticles, or unsclerotized chitin exhibits autofluorescence when excited with a laser of 405 nm wavelength. Regions with a low degree or high degree of sclerotization emit

• . Confocal laser scanning microscopy micrographs (maximum intensity projections) showing different types of autofluorescence exhibited by the cuticle. Blue regions contain resilin or some other proteins, while green, orange, and red structures represent different degrees of sclerotization. Black regions are

Functional morphology of cleaning devices in the damselfly Ischnura elegans (Odonata, Coenagrionidae)

• Silvana Piersanti,
• Gianandrea Salerno,
• Wencke Krings,
• Stanislav Gorb and
• Manuela Rebora

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1260–1272, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.102

• , situated on the foreleg tibiae, were observed using scanning electron microscopy, and the presence and distribution of resilin, an elastomeric protein that enhances cuticle flexibility, were analyzed using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Eye and antennal grooming behavior were analyzed to evaluate the

• particle removal efficiency in intact insects and in insects with ablated grooming devices. The grooming devices are constituted of long setae from which a concave cuticular lamina develops towards the medial side of the leg. Each seta shows a material gradient of resilin from its basal to the distal

• represent a starting point to develop advanced biomimetic cleaning tools. Keywords: antennae; cuticle; eyes; grooming; legs; resilin; Introduction Self-grooming, defined as any behavior related to the maintenance and care of body surfaces, is an innate behavior found across a wide range of animal species

The effect of age on the attachment ability of stick insects (Phasmatodea)

• Marie Grote,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Thies H. Büscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 867–883, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.72

• . aeta. Some arthropod claws, such as those in ticks [69], have been shown to contain small amounts of resilin, an elastomeric protein providing flexibility in cuticle composites [70]. Voigt and Gorb [69] also suspect resilin to occur in other arthropod claws as well, but melanization impedes

• investigation using fluorescence microscopy. Resilin-containing structures within the claws could potentially work as damping mechanisms to reduce wear and risk of damage [69]. Claws are presumed to be more resistant to wear than the soft and pliable adhesive pads [68][71]. Most claw breakages were observed at

• resulting actual contact area leads to lower attachment performance [72][73][74]. Most flexible cuticle consists at least partially of resilin [50][75][76], which needs water as a plasticizer to retain its extraordinary mechanical properties [70]. As the water evaporates, resilin becomes brittle and less

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

• blue. In addition, the blue colour intensity corresponds to the relative electron density of the tissue in TEM [57][58][59]. Cason’s triple stain allows for the differentiation of differently sclerotized regions from brown over orange to yellow (with a decreasing degree of sclerotization) to resilin

Suspension feeding in Copepoda (Crustacea) – a numerical model of setae acting in concert

• Alexander E. Filippov,
• Wencke Krings and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 603–615, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.50

• cuticle’s mechanical properties revealed that the setae on maxillae 1 (long setae) and 2 (short setae) possess very soft bases full of the elastic protein resilin [55][56][57]. Additionally, the tips of the short setae on maxilla 2 exhibited a blue autofluorescence signal, which strongly indicated that

• -resolution CLSM imaging or atomic force microscopy. As it was visualized by CLSM [55][56][57], the basal parts of some short and long setae appear to be relatively soft and seem to contain resilin or other proteins. This should influence the mobility of the rotating setae. To account for this in the

• female copepod crustacean Centropages hamatus in ventral view. The black arrows highlight the outer long setae with resilin occurring at their bases. The white arrows indicate the setae with resilin occurring at their tips. The red circle highlights maxilla 1 and the blue one maxilla 2. Scale bar on the

The effect of flexible joint-like elements on the adhesive performance of nature-inspired bent mushroom-like fibers

• Elliot Geikowsky,
• Serdar Gorumlu and
• Burak Aksak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2893–2905, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.268

• , rubber-like protein resilin. Light blue regions (hair shaft and discoidal tip structure) mainly consist of stiffer chitinous material. Adapted from [32]. b) Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of synthetic, polymeric, bent fibers inspired by the adhesive hairs of the beetle, showing joints between

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

• and allows for bearing forces on them during flight [216][217]. Resilin enhances the wing’s flexibility and is a unique component that is found in between the junctions of the vein and the wing [217][218][219]. The routine and longer colonization flights were supported by the vein system along with

Effect of microtrichia on the interlocking mechanism in the Asian ladybeetle, Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

• Jiyu Sun,
• Chao Liu,
• Bharat Bhushan,
• Wei Wu and
• Jin Tong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 812–823, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.75

• for flight [14]. In addition, during repeated hindwing folding, the resilin in wing folds has an important role in preventing material damage to hindwings [10]. A force schematic (Figure 7g) of the folding process was established and can be used to explain the interaction forces between microtrichia

Biological and biomimetic materials and surfaces

• Stanislav Gorb and
• Thomas Speck

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

• seed surface. They may additionally protect the mucilage against the mechanical and chemical impact of the animal digestion systems [13]. Animal systems Resilin is a rubber-like protein derived from arthropod exoskeletons. It is composed of a stable network of randomly orientated peptide chains that

• are covalently cross-linked by dityrosine and trityrosine. Due to this molecular structure, resilin bears a high flexibility and resilience. The review by Michels et al. summarizes the presence of resilin and its functional significance in membrane and joint systems, jumping and catapulting systems

• 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

• , adhesive systems employed in prey-capture, such as the sticky labial pads (paraglossae) of Stenus species (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae), seem largely to depend on such energy-dissipating effects of both the viscous adhesive and the highly elastic (resilin-containing) pad material in order to attain

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

• increases within setae while being pulled off the substrate, leading to higher resistance of the adhesive contact [12][45]. For C. septempunctata it was recently shown that the setal tips contain high amounts of the soft rubber-like protein resilin [46], which is a hygroscopic protein capable of binding

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

• Jan Michels Esther Appel Stanislav N. Gorb Department of Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Institute of Zoology, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Am Botanischen Garten 1–9, D-24118 Kiel, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.7.115 Abstract Resilin is an elastomeric protein typically occurring in

• molecular prerequisites, resilin features exceptional rubber-like properties including a relatively low stiffness, a rather pronounced long-range deformability and a nearly perfect elastic recovery. Within the exoskeleton structures, resilin commonly forms composites together with other proteins and/or

• chitin fibres. In the last decades, numerous exoskeleton structures with large proportions of resilin and various resilin functions have been described. Today, resilin is known to be responsible for the generation of deformability and flexibility in membrane and joint systems, the storage of elastic

The hydraulic mechanism in the hind wing veins of Cybister japonicus Sharp (order: Coleoptera)

• Jiyu Sun,
• Wei Wu,
• Mingze Ling,
• Bharat Bhushan and
• Jin Tong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 904–913, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.82

• ]. Folding requires the synergistic action of abdominal and thoracic muscle forces [15][16]; resilin in some mobile joints, together with data on wing unfolding and flight kinematics that may result in elastic energy storage in the wing [17]; or leveraging the rigid wing membrane involved in the folding

Mandibular gnathobases of marine planktonic copepods – feeding tools with complex micro- and nanoscale composite architectures

• Jan Michels and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 674–685, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.68

• silica. Recent studies revealed that the siliceous teeth are complex microscale composites with silica-containing cap-like structures located on chitinous exoskeleton sockets that are connected with rubber-like bearings formed by structures with high proportions of the soft and elastic protein resilin

• damage, and it is conceivable that their development has favoured the copepods’ dominance of the marine zooplankton observed today. Keywords: crystalline silica; diatom frustule; mandibular gnathobase; marine planktonic copepod; resilin; Review Significance of copepods in marine pelagic food webs

• proportions of the elastic protein resilin were discovered. The results show that the architecture and the composition of the composite structures in the gnathobase teeth are much more complex than previously assumed. In C. hamatus, the siliceous teeth feature a cap-like structure that contains high resilin

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

• 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

• protein resilin in rather high concentrations [12][15]. Both central and proximal parts of the setae were dominated by green, yellow and red autofluorescences due to the presence of other presumably sclerotised proteins and very likely chitin (Figure 1). Between the resilin-dominated distal part and more