Contaminant adhesion (aerial/ground biofouling) on the skin of a gecko

Gregory S Watson; B W Cribb; L Schwarzkopf; Jolanta A Watson

doi:10.1098/rsif.2015.0318

Back

Contaminant adhesion (aerial/ground biofouling) on the skin of a gecko

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Contaminant adhesion (aerial/ground biofouling) on the skin of a gecko

Gregory S Watson, B W Cribb, L Schwarzkopf and Jolanta A Watson

Journal of the Royal Society Interface, Vol.12(108)

2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2015.0318

Files and links (1)

url

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2015.0318View

Published Version

Abstract

adhesion

biofouling

contamination

gecko

lizard

pollen

In this study, we have investigated the micro- and nano-structuring and contaminant adhesional forces of the outer skin layer of the ground dwelling gecko-Lucasium steindachneri. The lizard's skin displayed a high density of hairs with lengths up to 4 mm which were spherically capped with a radius of curvature typically less than 30 nm. The adhesion of artificial hydrophilic (silica) and hydrophobic (C18) spherical particles and natural pollen grains were measured by atomic force microscopy and demonstrated extremely low values comparable to those recorded on superhydrophobic insects. The lizard scales which exhibited a three-tier hierarchical architecture demonstrated higheradhesion than the trough regions between scales. The two-tier roughness of the troughs comprising folding of the skin (wrinkling) limits the number of contacting hairs with particles of the dimensions used in our study. The gecko skin architecture on both the dorsal and trough regions demonstrates an optimized topography for minimizing solid-solid and solid-liquid particle contact area, aswell as facilitating a variety of particulate removal mechanisms including water-assisted processes. These contrasting skin topographies may also be optimized for other functions such as increased structural integrity, levels of wear protection and flexibility of skin for movement and growth. While single hair adhesion is low, contributions of many thousands of individual hairs (especially on the abdominal scale surface and if deformation occurs) may potentially aid in providing additional adhesional capabilities (sticking ability) for some gecko specieswhen interacting with environmental substrates such as rocks, foliage and even man-made structuring. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Details

Title: Contaminant adhesion (aerial/ground biofouling) on the skin of a gecko
Authors: Gregory S Watson (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
B W Cribb (Author) - University of Queensland
L Schwarzkopf (Author) - James Cook University
Jolanta A Watson (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Publication details: Journal of the Royal Society Interface, Vol.12(108); 13
Publisher: Royal Society Publishing
Date published: 2015
DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2015.0318
ISSN: 1742-5689
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449550002621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

8 File views/ downloads

838 Record Views

16 Times Cited - Web of Science

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Chemistry, Physical

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Source: InCites