The Secrets of Surfaces

From October, 1995 (Update #25)

Studying such natural surfaces as the inside of a human cheek or the skin of a dolphin, Sea Grant researchers are developing new, environmentally friendly coatings that show promise in helping surfaces stay clean of zebra mussels and other fouling organisms. Dr. Robert Baier, director of the Industry/University Center for Biosurfaces at the State University of New York at Buffalo, has spent more than 25 years trying to develop surface coatings that mimic nature's mechanisms for combating attachment. This research began with studies of the design of the surface used inside Barney Clark's artificial heart, the artificial kidney, and, more recently, new types of materials that prevent the adverse accumulation of biomass, whether it's zebra mussels, tubeworms, algae or bacterial slime. Baier's research team has shown that most biological adhesion follows surprisingly similar molecular modes of action. Protein is the glue that binds one surface to another, whether it's tubeworms like those found on the propellors of navy ships in Pearl Harbor or tomato ketchup in a food processing plant. Therefore, a properly designed surface should perform equally well against most fouling organisms or substances. The researchers studied natural surfaces that defend against adhesion. Why, they wondered, does the inside of a cheek resist dental plaque, or the surface of the cornea repel dust? They discovered that lipids, which make up the outermost cell membranes of these non-stick surfaces, could be copied using synthetic materials. Unlike toxic copper and mercury anti-fouling paints that pose potential health risks, these coatings are not chemically treated. Instead, they prevent biofouling based on their atomic surface energy. Several industry collaborators have begun to manufacture coatings based on this work. With industrial fellowship funding from the National Sea Grant College Program, Baier and graduate student Mark Ricotta are now studying surfaces that not only show non-stick, but drag-reduction characteristics. Their work could lead to the design of ships that not only stay clean, but go faster and consume less fuel.

ID: 199510-3.

The Zebra Mussel Update was a 4- to 8-page quarterly national newsletter published by the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute from May 1990 through May 1997. The ZMU documented the spread of the zebra mussel -- an exotic nuisance mussel -- through North America's freshwater environments, especially the Great Lakes, and on efforts to control it.