Biomechanics of Adhesion in Gecko’s Setae

摘要

@@The study of adhesion in the millions of setae on the toes of geckos has been advanced in recent years with theemergence of new technology and measurement methods.The theory of adhesion mechanism coming from thevan der Waals force is now accepted and broadly understood.However,in this paper limitations of this theoryare illustrated and a new hypothesis of biomechunics in gecko’s adhesion is presented.This is illustrated bymeasurements of the magnitude of the setae adhesion in three different conditions to show the close relationshipbetween the adhesion and the setae status.It is reinforced by demonstrating two structures of setae,follicle cellsand hair,the former making the setae capable of producing bioelectrical charges which play an important role inthe attachment and detachment processes.Thirdly it is shown that the abundant muscular tissues at the base ofgecko’s setae cells,controlled by peripheral nerves,are instrumental in producing the foot movement involvedin the attachment and detachment.Our studies will further uncover the gecko’s adhesion mechanism andprovide new ideas for designing and fabricating synthetic setae.