Open volume in bioadhesive detected by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy.
Barnacles attach to a wide variety of surfaces underwater and show substrate-specific adhesion mechanisms. Investigating and understanding these mechanisms is a key for developing new technical adhesives. We expected open volume (porosity) at the sub-nanometre scale to occur in barnacle adhesive. With positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) it is possible to detect porosity at the nanometre scale by determining the lifetime of positrons. This method has not been applied to bioadhesives so far. We showed that PALS is a suitable technique for the investigation of the barnacle base and its adhesive with respect to open volume. The results were interpreted using a standard model adapted from polymers. We thereby estimated pore sizes of 0.5 nm.
Rätzke
Klaus
K
University of Kiel, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. kr@tf.uni-kiel.de
Wiegemann
Maja
M
Shaikh
Muhammad Qasim
MQ
Harms
Stephan
S
Adelung
Rainer
R
Egger
Werner
W
Sperr
Peter
P
D000818:Animals; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D001468:Thoracica / Q000737:chemistry; D014014:Tissue Adhesives
D014014:Tissue Adhesives