ABSTRACT
The history of adhesion technology dates back to the beginning of human civilization when Stone Age man used pitch to glue blades to the shaft of his hunting tool. Despite apparent understanding of the fundamental mechanism of adhesion, difficulty arises because of the conflicting characters that epitomize, the bioadhesives. Natural adhesives, however, use a variety of mechanisms other than viscoelasticity to remain effective. The large variety of these mechanisms allows living organisms not only to adhere strongly onto a surface but also to detach easily from the surface for fast locomotion. Importantly, redundancy is present not only in individual setal level but also in regard to the mechanisms of adhesion. Maintaining the integrity of these novel adhesion mechanisms under extreme conditions, for example, under physiological conditions remains another important research goal to be achieved. The pulvillus is smooth but extremely soft so that it can generate strong adhesion on the smooth surface of stems and leaves of plants.
