Biomimetics on the micro- and nanoscale – The 25th anniversary of the lotus effect

• Matthias Mail,
• Kerstin Koch,
• Thomas Speck,
• William M. Megill and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 850–856, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.69

• authors use a nanoindentation technique to investigate the effect of freezing, desiccation, and rehydration on the elastic modulus of the hind tibial cuticle of locusts. All of the treatments significantly influenced the mechanical properties of the latter. Gorb et al. [7], in the paper “Hierachical

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

• edge of the mandible was parallel to the glass surface. Adhesion experiments on mandibles were carried out immediately after fixing the mandible to the slide to avoid material desiccation. Test method Adhesion experiments were performed in a manner similar to that in [1]. Just before each adhesion

• cuticle of insects often contains pore canals that transport lipid-containing secretions [45]. Cuticular lipids such as alkanes, alkenes, and fatty acids are present on the head and other body parts of honeybees [46]. Their functions include nestmate recognition and protection against desiccation [46

Design of a biomimetic, small-scale artificial leaf surface for the study of environmental interactions

• Miriam Anna Huth,
• Axel Huth,
• Lukas Schreiber and
• Kerstin Koch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 944–957, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.83

• functions (Figure 1). Among other things, it protects against herbivores and pathogens, provides mechanical stability, reflects harmful UV radiation [2][3][4][5][6], and mainly protects the plant from desiccation [7][8]. The cuticular waxes contribute significantly to this barrier function. Plant waxes

Effect of sample treatment on the elastic modulus of locust cuticle obtained by nanoindentation

• Chuchu Li,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Hamed Rajabi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 404–410, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.33

• freezing, desiccation, and rehydration on the elastic modulus of the hind tibial cuticle of locusts obtained by nanoindentation. We found that all the mentioned treatments significantly influence cuticle properties. This is in contrast to previous reports suggesting that freezing did not significantly

• materials. This is mostly because measuring the mechanical properties of insect cuticle is very challenging in practice. One of these challenges is associated with the rather fast desiccation rate of cuticle, as it loses its water shortly after removal from insect body [5]. Only small changes in the water

• obtained by Aberle et al. [9] would still be valid if another testing method, such as nanoindentation, is used for measuring cuticle properties. To address this question, here we study the effect of different sample treatments, including freezing, desiccation, and rehydration, on the elastic modulus of the

Engineered titania nanomaterials in advanced clinical applications

• Padmavati Sahare,
• Paulina Govea Alvarez,
• Juan Manual Sanchez Yanez,
• Gabriel Luna-Bárcenas,
• Samik Chakraborty,
• Sujay Paul and
• Miriam Estevez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 201–218, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.15

• TiO2 nps to kill even desiccation-resistant microbes, their value has increased in the food, cosmetic, and drug industries. Recently, glass surfaces coated with silver and TiO2 nps showed promising results against bacteria S. aureus (Gram positive) and E. coli (Gram negative) as compared to the

Electrospun one-dimensional nanostructures: a new horizon for gas sensing materials

• Muhammad Imran,
• Nunzio Motta and
• Mahnaz Shafiei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2128–2170, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.202

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

• and died to desiccation at the surface [36]. Figure 7B shows an example of wound healing where a tree limb has been removed [72]. The cells at the wound (cut) harden to seal off the tree. After a period of time, the callus growth tissue overtakes the wound as it grows from the wound’s edge, creating

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

• distortion from desiccation, without changing the leaf surface structures [36][51]. The leaves were cut into 0.5 cm2 pieces and placed on a wet paper towel inside a petri dish. Glycerol (90%) was added drop-wise over a period of 20 h. The process ensures that glycerol infiltrates the tissue through the cut

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

• increased flexibility towards substrates of different surface energy and polarity, (ii) their possible non-Newtonian viscosity shifts implying adjustable viscosities [24][25] and (iii) the formation of lipoid shields that prevent the aqueous fraction of an adhesive from desiccation and its sticking to the

• property would consolidate several functions in the context of effective locomotion (and possibly technical applications) such as Bingham-like slip resistance, tarsal releasability, desiccation resistance, mechanical compliance and protection from abrasive damage. Tarsal releasability might be brought by

• similar to those of water, they probably show, because of their hydrocarbon components, additional functional properties of technical relevance such as improved resistance towards desiccation and contamination, and beneficial wetting properties towards both hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. The low

“Sticky invasion” – the physical properties of Plantago lanceolata L. seed mucilage

• Agnieszka Kreitschitz,
• Alexander Kovalev and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1918–1927, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.183

• envelope that also influence the dispersal of seeds. To determine the physical properties of Plantago lanceolata seed mucilage we studied (1) composition, (2) desiccation, (3) adhesion, and (4) friction properties of the mucilage under different hydration conditions. We revealed the presence of cellulose

• mucilage against loss from the seed surface. Keywords: adhesion; cellulose mucilage; desiccation; friction; Plantago lanceolata; Introduction The ability of seeds and fruits (diaspores) to form mucilage after hydration is known as myxospermy [1][2]. The mucilaginous diaspores are particularly

• Linum usitatissimum [1]. In addition to the characterization of mucilage, three types of experiments were performed in this study with P. lanceolata mucilaginous seeds: (1) measurement of the desiccation dynamics of the hydrated seeds; (2) pull-off force estimation and (3) characterisation of frictional

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

• bridges, which is to cover setal tips and thereby preventing the desiccation of setal tips, thus, keeping them in a soft rubber-like state. In this light, it seems unlikely that the setal tips absorb water from ambient humidity. However, this hypothesis has not been confirmed so far and little is known

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

• by the larger thickness of the relatively stiff superficial layer, which likely reduces the adaptability of the pad to the substrate much more than the relatively thin superficial layer of the T. viridissima adhesive pad. The superficial layer is assumed to also protect the pad from desiccation as

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

• the pad. This principle is combined with the presence of a relatively stiff superficial layer that terminates the fibers. The layer keeps the distance between tips of fibers at some constant value (and in species living in arid environments protects the pad from desiccation) [29][30]. In the hairy

Antimicrobial properties of CuO nanorods and multi-armed nanoparticles against B. anthracis vegetative cells and endospores

• Pratibha Pandey,
• Merwyn S. Packiyaraj,
• Himangini Nigam,
• Gauri S. Agarwal,
• Beer Singh and
• Manoj K. Patra

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 789–800, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.91

• conditions. The spores can survive for prolonged periods in soil despite extremes of temperature, desiccation, chemical treatment and UV exposure [2][3][4][5][6]. The possible development and release of genetically engineered strains that are resistant against antibiotics and vaccines, similar to those