Remoras attach themselves to larger marine animals for transportation, protection, and food but just how they attach and detach from hosts without appearing to harm them has inspired a team of researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, to study the structure and tissue properties of the remora’s unique adhesion system.
They plan to use this information to create an engineered reversible adhesive that could be used to create pain- and residue-free bandages, attach sensors to objects, and replace surgical clamps.
he scientists say that the remora’s attachment mechanism is very different from other suction cup-based systems, fasteners, or adhesives that can only attach to smooth surfaces or cannot be detached without damaging the host. The remora’s suction plate is actually a greatly evolved dorsal fin that is flattened into a disk-like pad and surrounded by a thick, fleshy lip of connective tissue that creates the seal between the remora and its host. The lip encloses rows of “plates” from which perpendicular rows of tooth-like structures emerge. Remoras use a passive adhesion mechanism, meaning that the fish do not exert energy to maintain their attachment, something that the researchers say they may be able to exploit and improve upon to produce a synthetic material.”
They imaged the remoras in attached and detached states using microtomography, optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. From the images, they digitally reconstructed each specimen, measured characteristic features, and quantified structural similarities among specimens with significant size differences. Ultimately, they hope to optimize a bio-inspired adhesive for a wide variety of applications that have capabilities and performance advantages over currently available adhesives.
