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Materials science

Dry solution to a sticky problem

Nature volume 477, pages 42–43 (2011)Cite this article

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Sticking plasters revolutionized the protection of minor wounds, but they're not ideal for fragile skin. A material that mimics the adhesive properties of certain beetles' feet might provide a solution.

Adhesives that stick to skin for long periods of time, or over multiple cycles of use, are vital for medical applications. Such materials have to conform to stringent standards — for example, they must maintain robust adhesion during repeated application and removal without irritating the skin, and be non-toxic. Writing in Advanced Materials, Kwak et al.1 report an exciting advance towards achieving these standards: an adhesive tape that uses micrometre-scale pillars on its surface to stick to skin. This innovation bypasses the need for a glue-coated surface, as is commonly used in conventional skin adhesives.

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Figure 1: Glueless.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. and the Department of Medicine, Jeffrey M. Karp is at the Center for Regenerative Therapeutics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.,

    Jeffrey M. Karp

  2. Robert Langer is at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.,

    Robert Langer

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  1. Jeffrey M. Karp
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  2. Robert Langer
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Correspondence to Jeffrey M. Karp or Robert Langer.

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Karp, J., Langer, R. Dry solution to a sticky problem. Nature 477, 42–43 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/477042a

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