Determining the contribution of epidermal cell shape to petal wettability using isogenic Antirrhinum lines.

The petal epidermis acts not only as a barrier to the outside world but also as a point of interaction between the flower and potential pollinators. The presence of conical petal epidermal cells has previously been shown to influence the attractiveness of the flower to pollinating insects. Using Antirrhinum isogenic lines differing only in the presence of a single epidermal structure, conical cells, we were able to investigate how the structure of the epidermis influences petal wettability by measuring the surface contact angle of water drops.

Metastable underwater superhydrophobicity.

Superhydrophobicity is generally considered to be a thermodynamically stable wetting state. The stability of the plastron (the thin air film separating the substrate from the water in the superhydrophobic state) was studied in underwater experiments. The plastron exhibited a rapid decay after a well defined onset time, which was found to be dependent on the immersion depth.

Polyelectrolyte brush amplified electroactuation of microcantilevers.

This paper describes the electroactuation of microcantilevers coated on one side with cationic polyelectrolyte brushes. We observed very strong cantilever deflection by alternating the potential on the cantilever between +0.5 and -0.