I’m back to one of my favourite topics, self’-cleaning products (as I have noted ad nauseam, I long for self-cleaning windows). Scientists at the University of Akron, Ohio, have focussed their attention on the self-cleaning properties of a gecko’s toes. From the June 20, 2012 news release on EurekAlert,

Researchers Shihao Hu, a UA mechanical engineering student, and biologist and recent UA graduate Stephanie Lopez-Chueng of Keiser University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and their team discovered that the clue to a dynamic self-cleaning mechanism in gecko setae, or microscopic foot hair, is achieved through the hyperextension of their toes.

“The analysis reveals that geckos have tiny sticky hairs on their toes called setaes, and due to the attaching and detaching mechanism caused by the rolling and peeling motion of their toes as they walk, they release the dirt particles leaving their feet clean,” Hu says. “The dynamic hyperextension effect of its natural toe peeling increases the speed of the cleaning to nearly twice as fast as previously perceived.”

Partners in the study included Hu; Lopez-Chueng; Dr. Peter Niewiarowski, interim director, UA Integrated Bioscience Ph.D. program; and Zhenhai Xia, University of North Texas, Materials Science and Engineering.

The findings, published in the article, “Dynamic Self-Cleaning in Gecko Setae via Digital Hyperextension,” show that a gecko-inspired adhesive can function under conditions where traditional adhesives do not, possibly inspiring new applications in space or water exploration tools or in common items like duct tape or other products that use sticky properties.

My most recent posting about geckos and their bioadhesive qualities is dated April 3, 2012.

I don’t believe I’ve featured a gecko so here’s an image provided by the University of Akron,

Blue-spotted Gecko (A gecko-inspired adhesive can function under conditions where traditional adhesives do not, possibly inspiring new applications, University of Akron)

You can find a full size image and the university of Akron’s June 20, 2012 news release here.