Physical immobilization of particles inspired by pollination

authors	Santos, LF; Silva, AS; Correia, CR; Mano, JF
nationality	International
journal	PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
author keywords	biomimetic; drug carriers; honey bee; patches; pollination
keywords	DRUG-DELIVERY SYSTEMS; ADHESION; SURFACES; RELEASE; DESIGN; MICRO; SKIN
abstract	Biomimetic systems often exhibit striking designs well adapted to specific functions that have been inspiring the development of new technologies. Herein, we explored the remarkable ability of honey bees to catch and release large quantities of pollen grains. Hair spacing and height on bees are crucial for their ability to mechanically fix pollen grains. Inspired by this, we proposed the concept of a micropatterned surface for microparticle entrapment, featuring high-aspect-ratio elastic micropillars spaced to mimic the hairy surface of bees. The hypothesis was validated by investigating the ability of polydimethylsiloxane microfabricated patches to fix microparticles. The geometrical arrangement, spacing, height, and flexibility of the fabricated micropillars, and the diameter of the microparticles, were investigated. Higher entrapment capability was found through the match between particle size and pillar spacing, being consistent with the observations that the diameter of pollen grains is similar to the spacing between hairs on bees' legs. Taller pillars permitted immobilization of higher quantities of particles, consistent with the high aspect ratio of bees' hairs. Our biomimetic surfaces were explored for their ability to fix solid microparticles for drug-release applications, using tetracycline hydrochloride as a model antibiotic. These surfaces allowed fixation of more than 20 mg/cm(2) of antibiotic, about five times higher dose than commercialized patches (5.1 mg/cm(2)). Such bioinspired hairy surfaces could find applications in a variety of fields where dry fixation of high quantities of micrometer-sized objects are needed, including biomedicine, agriculture, biotechnology/chemical industry, and cleaning utensils.
publisher	NATL ACAD SCIENCES
issn	0027-8424
year published	2019
volume	116
issue	12
beginning page	5405
ending page	5410
digital object identifier (doi)	10.1073/pnas.1813336116
web of science category	Multidisciplinary Sciences
subject category	Science & Technology - Other Topics
unique article identifier	WOS:000461679000037