Enhanced Adhesion of Mosquitoes to Rough Surfaces
| Autor: | Baraka Lwoya, Tushar Khosla, Geetha P. Bansal, Nirbhay Kumar, Julie N. L. Albert, Yu Tian, Noshir S. Pesika, Leila Pashazanusi, Shreyas Oak |
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| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Insecticides
Materials science Zika Virus Infection Capillary action fungi Nanotechnology 02 engineering and technology Adhesion 010402 general chemistry 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology 01 natural sciences 0104 chemical sciences Adhesion strength symbols.namesake Culicidae symbols Surface roughness Animals Adhesion force General Materials Science Composite material van der Waals force 0210 nano-technology Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions |
| Zdroj: | ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 9:24373-24380 |
| ISSN: | 1944-8252 1944-8244 |
| Popis: | Insects and small animals capable of adhering reversibly to a variety of surfaces employ the unique design of the distal part of their legs. In the case of mosquitoes, their feet are composed of thousands of micro- and nanoscale protruding structures, which impart superhydrophobic properties. Previous research has shown that the superhydrophobic nature of the feet allows mosquitoes to land on water, which is necessary for their reproduction cycle. Here, we show that van der Waals interactions are the main adhesion mechanism employed by mosquitoes to adhere to various surfaces. We further demonstrate that the judicious creation of surface roughness on an opposing surface can increase the adhesion strength because of the increased number of surface elements interacting with the setae through multiple contact points. Although van der Waals forces are shown to be the predominant mechanism by which mosquitoes adhere to surfaces, capillary forces can also contribute to the total adhesion force when the opposing surface is hydrophilic and under humid conditions. These fundamental properties can potentially be applied in the development of superior Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs), which represent one of the most effective methods to mitigate mosquito-transmitted infectious diseases such as Malaria, Filaria, Zika, and Dengue. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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