Title: Bactericidal surfaces by biomimetics of the nanopillars on insect wings

Abstract

The wings of certain insects reveal exceptional properties such as super-hydrophobicity and self-cleaning abilities. In these aspects, they are comparable to the famous lotus leaf. Furthermore, the wings can also kill bacteria. Hexagonally arranged arrays of nanopillars (average height between 200nm and 500nm with a center distance of around 130nm) are responsible for mechanically destroying bacteria (notably without chemical bactericides). We investigated the wing surface structures of cicada and dragonfly species with Atomic Force Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy. The study's main focus lies in analyzing antibacterial structure properties by introducing low-cost bioimprinting techniques to transfer these structures to artificial surfaces. Especially, the combination of Polyvinyl Siloxane (PVS) and 3D printing UV resin give is promising.

Biography

Richard W. van Nieuwenhoven Master student in Biomedical Engineering at the Institute of Applied Physics, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria. His master thesis, supervised by Ille C. Gebeshuber, is about the nano templating of bactericidal properties to artificial surfaces, as well as sharpening his skills in AFM, confocal fluorescent microscopy, and laboratory techniques. He is currently planning his Ph.D. in the area of his main interest, engineered living materials. The basic concept deals with the use plant gall development as a mechanism to control the growth and form of structures produced by plants.