Abstract
THE idea has long been current1 that the tanning of insect cuticle by quinones makes it more ‘hydrofuge’. It is certainly true that dry tanned gelatin is less easily wetted with water than the untanned protein. But it is doubtful if such a statement is meaningful, applied to a water-saturated protein, whether it be tanned or not. A more useful form of this original suggestion may be: the tanning of insect cuticle lowers its adhesion to water.
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BEAMENT, J. Wetting Properties of Insect Cuticle. Nature 186, 408–409 (1960). https://doi.org/10.1038/186408a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/186408a0
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