Sean J. Blamires
Anna-Christin Joel
Dakota Piorkowski- 1School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- 2Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- 3School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- 4Institute of Zoology, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH), Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- 5Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA, United States
Editorial on the Research Topic
Advances in soft matter biological adhesives
Background of Research Topic
Nature used millions of years of evolution to produce its material designs – a length of time that is not available to scientists and engineers searching for novel solutions to complex materials challenges (Cohen and Reich, 2016; Wolff et al., 2017; Wang and Lee, 2019; Xue et al., 2019; Melrose, 2022; Cerullo et al., 2023; Stuart-Fox et al., 2023).
Attaining a deep knowledge of the ecology and evolution of biological soft matter adhesives is critical for the successful engineering of novel synthetic adhesives with adaptable properties for a range of applications (Wolff et al., 2017; Lim et al., 2020; Meyer et al., 2021; Lutz et al., 2022; Joel et al., 2023). An inspiring example of this is how studying the adhesive mechanisms of gecko toe pads led to the development of products such as the “gecko tape” adhesive (Raut et al., 2017). Similarly, a multi-scaled understanding of spider viscous silk functionality has inspired the development of novel water-resistant adhesives (Sahni et al., 2012; Bré et al., 2013; Sahni et al., 2014; Amarpuri et al., 2017; Lutz et al., 2022).
Summary of articles
Multiple hierarchical structuring reduces spider silk adhesion
Lifka et al. examined the processes acting when spiders produce nano-cribellate silks. They obsevered micro- and nanostructures along a grooved structure on their forelegs, the so-called calamistrum, used to brush out the nanofibers. Theoretical modeling as well as use of a technical replicate indicate that both, micro- and nanostructures decrease adhesion to nanofibers. This finding offers an intriguing solution to the challenge of producing and processing technical nano fibers including synthetic antiadhesive multi hierarchical combs.
Surface nanoripples promote anti-adhesion
Buchberger et al. focused on how surface nanoripples function as a mechanism of anti-adhesion for cribellate nanofibers. The surface of the calamistrum features a rippled nanotopography (periodicity: 200–300 nm) that does not adhere to the adhesive nanofibers. Similar structures can be found covering the complete body of the spider. The researchers accordingly demonstrated how manufactured surfaces with laser-etched nanoripples of varying geometry decrease the silk’s adhesion. Potential applications of Buchberger et al.’s anti-adhesion technology includes artificial nanofiber spooling, which could be adapted for prevention of biofilm formation.
Translation and processing drive gluey silk property variability
Ayoub et al. characterized the physical properties and molecular components of gluey spider silks and explored the influence of the environment on silk adhesiveness. Their findings revealed differences in glue properties between species, which were driven by protein composition variation. This highlighted the potential for glue properties to vary by a combination of: (i) differential translation of silk glue proteins, along with post-translational modifications, and (ii) variability in the extrusion rate of the silk throughout the glands. This offers an explanation to the rapid evolutionary change in structure and property of different species’ glues, which could pave the way for the creation of bio-inspired adhesives.
Common design features of a diverse pressure sensitive adhesive
Wolff et al. compared the relative chemical compositions of orb weaving and cobweb weaving spiders’ pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs). Despite the broad phylogenetic differences between the spiders sampled and corresponding differences in overall mix of organic compounds of their glues, there were common principles in functionality. Primarily, the PSAs relied on an organic salt plasticizer to promote adhesion. Which organic salt acted as the plasticizer, however, varied across the PSAs but roles for gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), GABA-amide and betaine were implicated. By exploiting these commonalities in functional principles of these PSAs, researchers might be able to design environmentally-friendly and sustainable adhesives for a range of applications.
Gastropod glue chemistry links to properties
Barajas-Ledesma and Holland investigated the chemistry, production mechanism, and mechanics of six phylogenetically different snail and slug mucuses. They revealed a commonality between mucus chemistry and material properties across species, most notably, at the family level, suggesting some kind of, yet to be delineated, evolutionary role. This study runs parallel and complementary to work on spider silk glues and represents an important step toward developing diverse biomimetic glues.
Conclusions
The articles within this Research Topic delve into the remarkable multi-scalar properties of several intriguing soft matter adhesive systems, including those of spider silk and gastropod mucus. Collectively, these articles underscore the incredible potential for biomimetic research to provide inspiration for innovation in materials technologies with applications in fields of medicine, cosmetics, biotechnology, and green technologies.
Author contributions
SB: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft. A-CJ: Writing – review & editing. DP: Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
References
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Bré L. P., Zheng Y., Pêgo A. P., Wang W. (2013). Taking tissue adhesives to the future: from traditional synthetic to new biomimetic approaches. Biomater. Sci. 1, 239–253. doi: 10.1039/C2BM00121G
Cerullo A. R., McDermott M. B., Pepi L. E., Liu Z. L., Barry D., Zhang S., et al. (2023). Comparative mucomic analysis of three functionally distinct Cornu aspersum secretions . Nat. Comms 14, 5361. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-41094-z
Cohen Y. H., Reich Y. (2016). Biomimetic design methods for innovation and sustainability (Tel Aviv: Springer).
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Melrose J. (2022). High performance marine and terrestrial bioadhesives and the biomedical applications they have inspired. Molecules 27, 8982. doi: 10.3390/molecules27248982
Meyer M., Buchberger G., Heitz J., Baiko D., Joel A. C. (2021). Ambient climate influences anti-adhesion between biomimetic structures foil nanofibers. Nanomaterials 11, 3222. doi: 10.3390/nano11123222
Raut H. K., Baji A., Hariri H. H., Parveen H., Soh G. S., Low H. Y., et al. (2017). Gecko-inspired dry adhesive based on micro-nanoscale hierarchical arrays for application in climbing devices. ACS Appl. Mater. Interf. 10, 1288–1296. doi: 10.1021/acsami.7b09526
Sahni V., Labhsetwar D. V., Dhinojwala A. (2012). Spider silk inspired functional microthreads. Langmuir 28, 2206–2210. doi: 10.1021/la203275x
Sahni V., Miyoshi T., Chen K., Jain D., Blamires S. J., Blackledge T. A., et al. (2014). Direct solvation of glycoproteins by salts in spider silk glues enhances adhesion and helps to explain the evolution of modern spider orb webs. Biomacromolecules 15, 1225–1232. doi: 10.1021/bm401800y
Stuart-Fox D., Ng L., Barner L., Bennet A. T. D., Blamires S. J., Elgar M. A., et al. (2023). Bio-informed advanced materials: current challenges and opportunities. Commun. Mater. 4, 80. doi: 10.1038/s43246-023-00405-z
Wang X., Lee H. (2019). Novel nanomaterials for biomedical, environmental and energy applications (Cambridge MA: Elsevier).
Wolff J. O., Wells D., Reid C., Blamires S. J. (2017). Clarity of objectives and working principles enhances the success of biomimetic programs. Bioinspiration Biomim. 12, 051001.
Keywords: biomimetics, arthropod, anti adhesion, nano, biomolecules
Citation: Blamires SJ, Joel A-C and Piorkowski D (2023) Editorial: Advances in soft matter biological adhesives. Front. Ecol. Evol. 11:1325315. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1325315
Received: 21 October 2023; Accepted: 26 October 2023;
Published: 08 November 2023.
Edited and Reviewed by:
Jordi Figuerola, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), SpainCopyright © 2023 Blamires, Joel and Piorkowski. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Dakota Piorkowski, dakota.sportsfan@gmail.com