Recently,
the Scientific World has seen a number of articles published about a
brand new type of adhesive made from carbon nanotubes. It mimics the
adhesive found on gecko feet. That lizard is able to climb on walls
and ceilings up tree trunks etc. by means of the sticky hairs on its'
feet.
They were able to synthesize tape with nanotubes stuck
to it that adhered to objects temporarily. That adhesive was made by
a complicated process of patterning catalysts onto a substrate using
photolithography, similar to the process used to manufacture
circuitry on computer chips. It was noted that the material might
have uses such as fastening objects on the International Space
Station, in high vacuum environments or in electronic devices or in
high temperature uses where regular glues would burn up.
The
Vulvox discovery will eliminate the necessity of using
photolithography to make nanotubes in tufts patterns, bringing the
potential cost down tremendously.We
can take nanotubes off the shelf and after mechanically processing
them we obtain solid objects that possess adhesive properties like
the nanotube tapes discovered at RPI.
Vulvox President Neil
Farbstein stated that "Vulvox made two discoveries this year;
first we discovered a new genetic sequence that primes the reverse
transcriptase reaction that might have applications in genetic
diagnostic tests or in molecular genetics. And we discovered the
adhesive properties of the nanotube material this week. We will work
on developing composites that maintain those sticky properties on
their surface. And there are indications that the adhesion might be
increased in magnitude through a number of
manipulations."
Contact Neil
Farbstein President Vulvox Nanobiotechnology
Corporation 516-921-5058
