Qualitative correlation between structural chirality through the cuticle of Chrysina aurigans scarabs and left-handed circular polarization of the reflected light

Hernández-Jiménez, Marcela; Azofeifa, D. E.; Libby, Eduardo; Barboza-Aguilar, C.; Solis, Á.; Arce-Marenco, L; García-Aguilar, I.; Hernández, Alejandro; Vargas, William E.

doi:10.1364/ome.4.002632

Cited by 20 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Low reflection values (attributed to the epicuticle coating layer) are seen at short wavelengths, as indicated in the figures, with very abrupt reflection edges in the visible and more gradually decaying values towards the near infrared. As shown elsewhere, the light reflected by the C. aurigans' cuticle is predominantly left-handed circularly polarized [7], in the spectral range where the reflection bands are displayed. At short wavelengths, at the left sides of the bands, the reflected light is predominantly non-polarized.…”

Section: Optical Measurementssupporting

confidence: 56%

“…Although the reflected intensities show some dependence with the illuminated site in the elytron, the differences are not higher than 15% in the spectral regions of maximum reflection. The spectral features of the measurements do not show any dependence with the specific site considered [7]. The four spectra show broad reflection bands whose bandwidths are approximately given by Δλ exp = 375 nm for the golden-like C. aurigans, Δλ exp = 328 nm for the red C. aurigans, Δλ exp = 463 nm for the golden-like C. chrysargyrea, and Δλ exp = 334 nm for the silver-like C. chrysargyrea.…”

Section: Optical Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Cuticle of Chrysina aurigans scarabs is an example. A cut perpendicular or nearly perpendicular to the successive planes is seen in Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images as a multilayer structure, with the thinnest black layers corresponding to those depths where the orientation of the chitin nano-fibrils is parallel to the cut [7]. There are also cases where instead of planes of constant φ, what is displayed in the SEM images are successive convex cuts of constant φ. Cuticles of Chrysina gloriosa and Chrysina boucardi are examples of this type [8] [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Helicoidal structures characterized by a constant pitch P o have been considered in literature [10] as well as arrangements with a small step in the pitch from some depth through the cuticle [11]. Our group has recently reported for Chrysina aurigans scarab beetles the presence of a pitch P that shows a smooth dependence with depth z through the cuticle [7]- [13], i.e. P = P(z).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Light Reflection by Cuticles of Chrysina Jewel Scarabs: Optical Measurements, Morphology Characterization, and Theoretical Modeling

Vargas¹,

Hernández-Jiménez²,

Libby³

et al. 2016

OPJ

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cuticles of some Chrysina scarabs are characterized by flat, graded, and twisted structures of nanosized chitin fibrils. As inferred from SEM images, each species has its own spatial period or pitch P which is dependent on the depth z through the cuticle. From Berreman's formalism, taking into account the corresponding P(z) dependence, we evaluate reflection spectra of C. aurigans and C. chrysargyrea scarabs. The spectra display the main spectral features observed in the measured ones when small sections of the cuticles are illuminated with non-polarized light, for wavelengths between 300 and 1100 nm. By considering these twisted structures as 1D photonic crystals, an approach is developed to show how the broad band characterizing the reflection spectra arises from a narrow intrinsic photonic band width, whose spectral position moves through visible and near infrared wavelengths. The role of the epicuticle that covers the twisted structures is analyzed in terms of a waxy layer acting as an anti-reflecting coating that also shows low levels of light scattering.

show abstract

Section: Optical Measurementssupporting

confidence: 56%

Section: Optical Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Light Reflection by Cuticles of Chrysina Jewel Scarabs: Optical Measurements, Morphology Characterization, and Theoretical Modeling

Vargas¹,

Hernández-Jiménez²,

Libby³

et al. 2016

OPJ

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…24 . The presence of a ripple structure superimposed on a broadband plateau is also present in the spectrum of the gold cuticle of the scarab beetle Chrysina aurigans 27,28 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Biomimetic design of iridescent insect cuticles with tailored, self-organized cholesteric patterns

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Replicating biological patterns is promising for designing materials with multifaceted properties. Twisted cholesteric liquid crystal patterns are found in the iridescent tessellated cuticles of many insects and a few fruits. Their accurate replication is extremely difficult since discontinuous patterns and colors must coexist in a single layer without discontinuity of the structures. Here, a solution is demonstrated by addressing striped insect cuticles with a complex twisted organization. Geometric constraints are met by controlling the thermal diffusion in a cholesteric oligomer bilayer subjected to local changes in the molecular anchoring conditions. A multicriterion comparison reveals a very high level of biomimicry. Proof-of-concept prototypes of anti-counterfeiting tags are presented. The present design involves an economy of resources and a high versatility of chiral patterns unreached by the current manufacturing techniques such as metallic layer vacuum deposition, template embossing and various forms of lithography which are limited and often prohibitively expensive.

show abstract

Self‐Assembly of Cellulose Nanocrystals into Semi‐Spherical Photonic Cholesteric Films

Rofouie

Alizadehgiashi

Mundoor

et al. 2018

Adv Funct Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Spherical-shape cholesteric (Ch) photonic films offer promising applications such as omnidirectional lasing and broadband reflection. Here, we report a strategy for the fabrication of photonic Ch films by the self-assembly of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) in semi-spherical cavities. We show that film structure and photonic properties are controlled by the film curvature, the composition the precursor CNC suspension and its liquid crystalline or isotropic state. The effect of curvature of the drying Ch-CNC films coupled with the restricted mobility of CNCs during film preparation results in the This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. 2 variation in pitch and helical axis inclination, thus leading to broadband reflectance properties of the films. We underline the role of curvature of the Ch-CNC films by comparing their distinct properties with those of planar films with the same composition. These findings provide a novel insight into the design and development of biomimetic photonic Ch films.

show abstract

Qualitative correlation between structural chirality through the cuticle of Chrysina aurigans scarabs and left-handed circular polarization of the reflected light

Cited by 20 publications

References 43 publications

Light Reflection by Cuticles of Chrysina Jewel Scarabs: Optical Measurements, Morphology Characterization, and Theoretical Modeling

Light Reflection by Cuticles of Chrysina Jewel Scarabs: Optical Measurements, Morphology Characterization, and Theoretical Modeling

Biomimetic design of iridescent insect cuticles with tailored, self-organized cholesteric patterns

Self‐Assembly of Cellulose Nanocrystals into Semi‐Spherical Photonic Cholesteric Films

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About