A switchable dry adhesive based on a nickel–titanium (NiTi) shape-memory alloy with an adhesive silicone rubber surface has been developed. Although several studies investigate micropatterned, bioinspired adhesive surfaces, very few focus on reversible adhesion. The system here is based on the indentation-induced two-way shape-memory effect in NiTi alloys. NiTi is trained by mechanical deformation through indentation and grinding to elicit a temperature-induced switchable topography with protrusions at high temperature and a flat surface at low temperature. The trained surfaces are coated with either a smooth or a patterned adhesive polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer, resulting in a temperature-induced switchable surface, used for dry adhesion. Adhesion tests show that the temperature-induced topographical change of the NiTi influences the adhesive performance of the hybrid system. For samples with a smooth PDMS layer the transition from flat to structured state reduces adhesion by 56%, and for samples with a micropatterned PDMS layer adhesion is switchable by nearly 100%. Both hybrid systems reveal strong reversibility related to the NiTi martensitic phase transformation, allowing repeated switching between an adhesive and a nonadhesive state. These effects have been discussed in terms of reversible changes in contact area and varying tilt angles of the pillars with respect to the substrate surface.
We studied the effects of pillar dimensions and stiffness of biocompatible and biodegradable micropatterned surfaces on adhesion on different compliant substrates. The micropatterned adhesives were based on biocompatible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) polymer systems. Micropatterned and non-patterned compliant PDMS did not show significant differences in adhesion on compliant mice ear skin or on gelatin-glycerin model substrates. However, adhesion measurements for micropatterned stiff PLGA on compliant gelatin-glycerin model substrates showed significant enhancement in pull-off strengths compared to non-patterned controls.
Unpatterned reference samples of the skin adhesive did not stick to human skin, while the patterned samples all showed notable adhesion up to 1.2 Newton for a sample size of approximately 3 cm². First results with the patterned suture threads indicated that the surface patterning of the thread has only a minor effect on the pull-through forces. To achieve knot-free sewing the surface geometry of the suture threads needs to be optimized and more realistic testing procedures, e.g. testing on human skin, are necessary.
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