Researchers look to frogs to create anti-barnacle filmBy Su Meng-chuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerA research team at National Chung Hsing University has developed a substance inspired by frog skin to prevent biofouling on ships and offshore equipment. Some biofouling substances can damage precision electronic equipment if they seep inside a ship, he said. Observing frog skin magnified 30,000 times, the team saw that there were dots and grooves on the skin that helped store a lubricant, which frogs secrete on their skin, he said. The team determined that frogs were unaffected by algae or other biofouling substances in the water because of these microscopic orifices that store a lubricant that kept the substances off their skin, Hsueh said. Using polymeric synthesis technology, the team created a film with microscopic wrinkles and injected silicone into tiny artificially created holes simulating the frogs’ skin, he said.

Source: Taipei Times September 25, 2021 15:56 UTC