An illustration of a gecko spatula, a nanometer-scale structure on the animal’s toes that contribute to its grip. The green sheets represent keratin proteins. The gray squiggles represent lipid molecules. Based on data from NIST’s synchrotron microscope.
Credit: Marianne Meijer/Kerncraft Art & Graphics
Geckos are famous for having grippy feet that allow them to scale vertical surfaces with ease. They get this seeming superpower from millions of microscopic, hairlike structures on their toes. Now, scientists have zoomed in for an even closer look at those structures, called setae, and found that they are coated in an ultra-thin film of water-repelling lipid molecules only one nanometer, or billionths of a meter, thick.
Geckos
Credit: rawpixel.com, (CC0 1.0)
Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) analyzed the surface of the setae using high-energy X-rays thrown off by a type of particle accelerator called a synchrotron. The synchrotron microscope showed that the lipid molecules line the surface of the setae in dense, orderly arrays.
An international team of researchers published the findings in Biology Letters. An earlier companion paper, published in Physical Chemistry Letters, used the same technique to show how the individual protein strands that make up the setae are aligned.
“A lot was already known about how setae work mechanically,” said NIST physicist and co-author Cherno Jaye. “Now we have a better understanding of how they work in terms of their molecular structure.”
Geckos have inspired many products, including adhesive tapes with setae-like microstructures. Understanding the molecular features of setae might ..
Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.
