A reversible wet/dry adhesive inspired by mussels and geckos

Haeshin Lee, Bruce P. Lee and Phillip B. Messersmith ()
Additional contact information
Haeshin Lee: Biomedical Engineering Department,
Bruce P. Lee: Nerites Corporation, 525 Science Drive, Suite 215, Madison, Wisconsin 53711, USA
Phillip B. Messersmith: Biomedical Engineering Department,

Nature, 2007, vol. 448, issue 7151, 338-341

Abstract: Geckos with Mussel On the cover, a gecko clings to a mussel shell. This improbable scenario stems from a shared ability of these species to cling on to things. Geckos can adhere even to inverted surfaces, thanks to tiny hairs on their feet. But the grip is temporary, as rapid attachment and detachment are key to locomotion. It has proved difficult to make a synthetic that stays sticky over many cycles and there is another snag: a gecko's adhesion is much reduced under water. A new adhesive, called 'geckel', overcomes this sensitivity to water by combining gecko-type nanostructures with the chemical approach to underwater adhesion used by mussels. The resulting hybrid adhesive, made up of an array of tiny pillars coated with a polymer that mimics the wet adhesive proteins found in mussels, shows remarkable reversible adhesion over 1,000 cycles in both wet and dry conditions. This development could lead to reversible adhesives suited to a range of practical applications. Cover image by H. Lee, W. Lim and A. J. Kane

Date: 2007
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature05968 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:448:y:2007:i:7151:d:10.1038_nature05968

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/nature05968

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().