Biomaterials

The interdisciplinary field of biomimetics has been very successful in solving engineering problems by searching for solutions in nature. Through the process of evolution, many living organisms developed different structural and chemical material properties that assured the continuation of a certain species. Technological challenges dealing with wetting and liquid collection and transportation also found solutions in nature. Our main focus is on the directional transport of liquids and as a role-model for this application, we used the flat bugs (Dysodius lunatus). Here, we present arrays of microstructures produced by two-photon polymerization technique that mimic the micro-ornamentation from the bugs’ cuticle. A good directionality of liquid transport was achieved, directly controlled by the direction of the pointed microstructures at the surface. These results could therefore be interesting for applications in friction and wear reduction.