Alternative moth-eye nanostructures: antireflective properties and composition of dimpled corneal nanocoatings in silk-moth ancestors

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Date
2017Type
- Journal Article
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Cited 10 times in
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Abstract
Moth-eye nanostructures are a well-known example of biological antireflective surfaces formed by pseudoregular arrays of nipples and are often used as a template for biomimetic materials. Here, we provide morphological characterization of corneal nanostructures of moths from the Bombycidae family, including strains of domesticated Bombyx mori silk-moth, its wild ancestor Bombyx mandarina, and a more distantly related Apatelodes torrefacta. We find high diversification of the nanostructures and strong antireflective properties they provide. Curiously, the nano-dimple pattern of B. mandarina is found to reduce reflectance as efficiently as the nanopillars of A. torrefacta. Access to genome sequence of Bombyx further permitted us to pinpoint corneal proteins, likely contributing to formation of the antireflective nanocoatings. These findings open the door to bioengineering of nanostructures with novel properties, as well as invite industry to expand traditional moth-eye nanocoatings with the alternative ones described here. Show more
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https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000191061Publication status
publishedExternal links
Journal / series
Journal of NanobiotechnologyVolume
Pages / Article No.
Publisher
BioMed Central Ltd.Subject
Moth-eye structures; Biomimetic materials; Antireflective nanocoatings; SilkmothOrganisational unit
03918 - Fiebig, Manfred / Fiebig, Manfred
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Citations
Cited 10 times in
Web of Science
Cited 10 times in
Scopus
ETH Bibliography
yes
Altmetrics