Wrinkling patterns at the metallized surface of thin polymer films are shown to be sensitive to the sticky or slippery character of the polymer-substrate interface. Existing theoretical models were expanded to specific boundary conditions (adhesive versus slippery) in order to rationalize these observations. Based on this concept, we were able to propose a new and simple method to orient the wr...

Our research was aimed at the study of aluminum films and porous anodic alumina (PAA) films in thin-film РАА/Al structures for optical sensors, based on metal-clad waveguides (MCWG). The results of the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies of the structure of Al films, deposited by DC magnetron sputtering, and of PAA films, formed on them, are presented in...

In this paper the fabrication and electrical characterization of a silicon microreactor for high-temperature catalytic gas phase reactions, like Rh-catalyzed catalytic partial oxidation of methane into synthesis gas, is presented. The microreactor, realized with micromachining technologies, contains silicon nitride tubes that are suspended in a flow channel. These tubes contain metal thin films...

A simple approach to the mechanical modulation of layer-by-layer (LbL) films is through manipulation of the film assembly. Here, we report results based on altering the salt concentration during film assembly and its effect on film rigidity. Based on changes in film rigidity, cell adhesion characteristics and transfection activity were investigated in vitro. LbL films consisting of reducible hy...

A vapor phase deposition system was designed to coat uniform, conformal and ultrathin coatings of fluoropolymer and fluorosilane thin films inside silicon nanochannels. Surface modifications using vapor phase deposition become increasingly important for biomedical micro/nanoelectromechanical system BioMEMS/NEMS applications and have advantages over liquid phase deposition since the vapor can pe...

In this work, we have investigated the adhesive behaviour of elastic films in contact with solid substrates, which are bounded by mound surface roughness. This type of roughness is described by the rms roughness amplitude w, the average mound separation K, and the system correlation length f. It is shown that both lateral roughness parameters K and f strongly influence adhesive characteristics....

The development of materials based on renewable resources with enhanced mechanical and physicochemical properties is hampered by the abundance of hydrophilic groups because of their structural instability. Bio-inspired from the strong adhesion ability of mussel proteins, renewable and robust soy-based composite films were fabricated from two soybean-derived industrial materials: soluble soybean...

Tissue adhesives are attractive materials with potential to replace the use of sutures and staples in the repair of the injured tissues. The research field of tissue adhesives is dynamically growing, and different methods and tissue models are employed to evaluate the adhesive properties of newly developed materials. It is thus difficult to directly compare the properties of materials developed...

BACKGROUND Many arachnids possess adhesive pads on their feet that help them climb smooth surfaces and capture prey. Spider and gecko adhesives have converged on a branched, hairy structure, which theoretically allows them to adhere solely by dry (solid-solid) intermolecular interactions. Indeed, the consensus in the literature is that spiders and their smooth-padded relatives, the solifugids, ...