Neutral glycans from sandfish skin can reduce friction of polymers

Neutral glycans from sandfish skin can reduce friction of polymers.

The lizardScincus scincus, also known as sandfish, can move through aeolian desert sand in a swimming-like manner. A prerequisite for this ability is a special integument, i.e. scales with a very low friction for sand and a high abrasion resistance. Glycans in the scales are causally related to the low friction. Here, we analysed the glycans and found that neutral glycans with five to nine mann...

Plasma can reduce Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm formation on medical polymers

Medical polymers, such as urinary catheters are widely used biomaterials. One of the main problem for using the urinary catheters is biofilm formation on their surface, when they are used in a long time in the body. Virulence and pathogenicity of Staphylococcus epidermidis is often enhanced when growing as a biofilm. Many techniques have been presented to reduce the biofilm formation by surface...

Velocity dependence of friction of confined polymers

VIEWPOINT Polymers Reduce Drag

F rictional drag steals energy from a moving fluid, but the loss usually becomes greater as the flow goes from smooth, or “laminar,” to turbulent. The onset of turbulence therefore poses a problem for many situations involving fluid flow through a conduit, be it oil in a giant pipeline, blood in a human aorta, or liquid in a heat exchanger. One established solution is to add a small amount of p...

Skin friction blistering: computer model.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE Friction blisters, a common injury in sports and military operations, can adversely effect or even halt performance. Given its frequency and hazardous nature, recent research efforts appear limited. Blistering can be treated as a delamination phenomenon; similar issues in materials science have been extensively investigated in theory and experiment. An obstacle in studying bl...