title: Biological attachment devices: exploring nature's diversity for biomimetics.
abstract: Many species of animals and plants are supplied with diverse attachment devices, in which morphology depends on the species biology and the particular function in which the attachment device is involved. Many functional solutions have evolved independently in different lineages of animals and plants. Since the diversity of such biological structures is huge, there is a need for their classification. This paper, based on the original and literature data, proposes ordering of biological attachment systems according to several principles: (i) fundamental physical mechanism, according to which the system operates, (ii) biological function of the attachment device, and (iii) duration of the contact. Finally, we show a biomimetic potential of studies on biological attachment devices.
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Biomaterials Group, Department of Thin Films and Biosystems, Max Planck Institute for Metals Research, Heisenbergstrasse 3, Stuttgart 70569, Germany. s.gorb@mf.mpg.de
authors.forename: Stanislav N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Gorb
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001695:Biology; D001698:Biomedical Engineering; D040761:Biomimetic Materials; D032701:Biomimetics; D004867:Equipment Design; D008422:Materials Testing; D036103:Nanotechnology; D010271:Parasites / Q000502:physiology; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D012371:Robotics; D000267:Tissue Adhesions; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D016474:Weight-Bearing