PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Majumder, Abhijit
AU  - Ghatak, Animangsu
AU  - Sharma, Ashutosh
TI  - Microfluidic Adhesion Induced by Subsurface Microstructures
AID  - 10.1126/science.1145839
DP  - 2007 Oct 12
TA  - Science
PG  - 258--261
VI  - 318
IP  - 5848
4099  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/318/5848/258.short
4100  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/318/5848/258.full
SO  - Science2007 Oct 12; 318
AB  - Natural adhesives in the feet of different arthropods and vertebrates show strong adhesion as well as excellent reusability. Whereas the hierarchical structures on the surface are known to have a substantial effect on adhesion, the role of subsurface structures such as the network of microchannels has not been studied. Inspired by these bioadhesives, we generated elastomeric layers with embedded air- or oil-filled microchannels. These adhesives showed remarkable enhancement of adhesion (∼30 times), which results from the crack-arresting properties of the microchannels, together with the surface stresses caused by the capillary force. The importance of the thickness of the adhesive layer, channel diameter, interchannel spacing, and vertical position within the adhesive has been examined for developing an optimal design of this microfluidic adhesive.