Preprint: Autumn, K. 2006. Properties, principles, and parameters of the gecko adhesive system. In Smith, A. and J. Callow, Biological Adhesives. SpringerKellar Verlag. Autumn The Gecko Adhesive System 1 of 39 Do not copy or distribute without permission of the author (
[email protected]). Copyright (c) 2005 Kellar Autumn. Properties, Principles, and Parameters of the Gecko Adhesive System Kellar Autumn Department of Biology Lewis & Clark College Portland, OR 97219-7899
[email protected] 10156 words + 130 references. 6 figures, 2 tables. “The designers of the future will have smarter adhesives that do considerably more than just stick” –Fakley 2001 1. Summary Gecko toe pads are sticky because they feature an extraordinary hierarchy of structure that functions as a smart adhesive. Gecko toe pads (Russell 1975) operate under perhaps the most severe conditions of any adhesives application. Geckos are capable of attaching and detaching their adhesive toes in milliseconds (Autumn et al. 2005 (in press)) while running with seeming reckless abandon on vertical and inverted surfaces, a challenge no conventional adhesive is capable of meeting. Structurally, the adhesive on gecko toes differs dramatically from that of conventional adhesives. Conventional pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs) such as those used in adhesive tapes are fabricated from materials that are sufficiently soft and sticky to flow and make intimate and continuous surface contact (Pocius 2002). Because they are soft and sticky, PSAs also tend to degrade, foul, self- adhere, and attach accidentally to inappropriate surfaces. Gecko toes typically bear a series of scansors covered with uniform microarrays of hair-like setae formed from !- keratin (Russell 1986; Wainwright et al.