Adhesive Nanofibers Inspired by Plant Seeds

Innovation: Academia

Kiel University

2018

Image: Alex Grodkiewicz / Unsplash / CC BY SA - Creative Commons Attribution + ShareAlike

Manage Compression

When a living system is under compression, there is a force pushing on it, like a chair with a person sitting on it. When evenly applied to all sides of a living system, compression results in decreased volume. When applied on two sides, it results in deformation, such as when pushing on two sides of a balloon. This deformation can be temporary or permanent. Because living systems must retain their most efficient form, they must ensure that any deformation is temporary. Managing compression also provides an opportunity to lessen the effects of other forces. Living systems have strategies to help prevent compression or recover from it, while maintaining function. For example, African elephant adults weigh from 4,700 to 6,048 kilograms. Because they must hold all of that weight on their four feet, the tissues of their feet have features that enable compression to absorb and distribute forces.

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Attach Temporarily

Living systems must sometimes, temporarily, stay in one place, climb or otherwise move around, or hold things together. This entails attaching temporarily with the ability to release, which minimizes energy and material use. Some living systems repeatedly attach, detach, and reattach for an extended time, such as over their lifetimes. Despite being temporary, these attachments must withstand physical and other forces until they have achieved their purpose. Therefore, living systems have adapted attachment mechanisms optimized for the amount of time or number of times they must be used. An example is the gecko, which climbs walls by attaching its toes for less than a second. Other examples include insects that attach their eggs to a leaf until they hatch, and insects whose wings temporarily attach during flight but separate after landing.

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Nanofibers from Kiel University are made of cellulose from dried plant seed mucilage that gives them tunable friction characteristics.

Benefits

Biodegradable
Strong
Biocompatible

Applications

Medical implants
Cosmetics
Manufacturing

UN Sustainable Development Goals Addressed

Goal 3: Good Health & Wellbeing
Goal 9: Industry Innovation & Infrastructure

Bioutilization

Mucilage
Cellulose

The Challenge

Traditional nanofibers used in the medical, cosmetic, and food industries are made of carbon nanotubes. Although these carbon nanotubes work in these applications, their health effects have not yet been fully investigated.

Innovation Details

The nanofibers are made of nanofibrils derived from plant seed mucilage. The mucilage is dried using a gentle, critical-point methodology that does not harm the individual cell structures. The resulting nanofibers show strong dry friction and adhesive properties. Additionally, the nanofibers have electrical conductivity and are comparable in strength to their synthetic counterparts.

Biomimicry Story

Many plant seeds form a mucous sheath called a mucilage. One function of this coating is to help absorb and retain water, which enable seeds to create their own microenvironments suitable for germinating in arid environments. In addition, mucilage’s adhesive properties can help a germinating seed anchor to the ground or allow a seed to spread to new locations by sticking to the feathers of a bird or the fur of a migrating animal.

References

Journal article

Friction-Active Surfaces Based on Free-Standing Anchored Cellulose Nanofibrils

ACS Publications

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