Department Arzt – Research Areas

Nanomechanics of Metals | Thin Film Synthesis | Chemistry
and Patterning of Functional Surfaces | Evolutionary Biomaterials | Micromechanics of Biological Materials | Adaptive Fiber Structures |
Industrial Materials | Study Program Materials Science

Using a wide variety of methods, the group studies mechanical systems and materials which appeared in biological evolution. The research is mainly focused on biological surfaces specialised for enhancement or reduction of frictional or adhesive forces in contact. Such surfaces are composed of highly-specialised materials and bear surface structures optimised for a particular function. Some of these systems employ secretory substances, modulating forces in the contact area.

This basic research oriented project includes approaches of several disciplines: zoology, botany, structural biology, biomechanics, physics, and materials science. In order to explore different functional principles, we experimentally test many different systems and try to outline general rules of the interrelationship between structure and function. Since comparative studies on the microsculpture, ultrastructure, material properties, and attachment- detachment performances of several functional systems include a wide variety of organisms (insects, spiders, fish, lizards, plants), some questions about the evolution of these systems can be resolved.

The results obtained are useful for high-tech areas, such as micro- and nanotechnology, as well as for bionics (biomimetics) of novel surface-active materials.

Cooperations

Prof. Dr. Rolf Beutel, Systematic Zoology, University of Jena, Germany
Dr. Heinz Schwarz, MPI for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany
Prof. Dr. Thomas Speck, Botanical Garden, University of Freiburg, Germany
Prof. Dr. Christoph Neinhuis, Botanical Garden, TU Dresden, Germany
Dr. Nick Rowe and Dr. Laurence Gaume-Vial, CNRS, Montpellier, France

Selected recent publications

Langer, M.G., Ruppersberg, J.P., and Gorb, S.N. (2004) Adhesion forces measured at the level of a terminal plate of the fly's seta. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 271: 2209-2215

Peressadko, A.G., and Gorb, S.N. (2004) When less is more: Experimental evidence for tenacity enhancement by division of contact area. Journal of Adhesion 80: 247 - 261

Perez-Goodwyn, P.J., and Gorb, S.N. (2004) Frictional properties of contacting surfaces in the hemelytra-hindwing locking mechanism in the bug Coreus marginatus (Heteroptera, Coreidae). Journal of Comparative Physiology A 190: 575-580

Huber, G., Gorb, S.N., Spolenak, R., and Arzt, E. (2005) Resolving the nanoscale adhesion of individual gecko spatulae by atomic force microscopy. Biology Letters 1: 2-4

Gorb, E., Haas, K., Henrich, A., Enders, S., Barbakadze, N., and Gorb, S. (2005) Composite structure of the crystalline epicuticular wax layer of the slippery zone in the pitchers of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes alata and its effect on insect attachment. Journal of Experimental Biology 208: 4651-4662

Contact

Dr. Stanislav N. Gorb
s.gorb@mf.mpg.de

The beetle Gastrophysa viridula is the model object for studies on reversible adhesion

Attachment organ of the beetle G. viridula in contact with a glass surface

Terminal elements of the attachment system of the gecko toe: flat spatulae are responsible for contact formation

An example of a computer model of an insect surface specialised for friction enhancement

Surfaces of the carnivorous pitcher plant Nepenthes alata adapted for preventing insect attachment