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dissolving lead shavings in vinegar8. Stannic                                                                                                    This finding suggests that the force exerted
                                                                            a
oxide would have been an acceptable substi-                                                                                                  by the strider’s legs could be due to a ‘super-
                                                                                               Vessel wall
tute,with supplies being available through the                                                                                               hydrophobic’ effect (that is, the contact angle
Cornish tin industry. The Romano–British                                                                                                     with water would be greater than 150°). We
                                                                                    Cantilever
chemists probably believed that they were                                                                                                    verified that this was indeed the case by sessile
using a new source of cerussa, so confused                                                                                                   water-drop measurements, which showed
                                                                                                    Leg
were their encyclopaedias in distinguishing                                                                                                  that that the contact angle of the insect’s legs
lead from tin.                                                                                                                               with water was 167.6 4.4° (Fig.1a,inset).
    None of the surviving Greco–Roman med-                                                                                                       The contact angle of water made with the
ical corpora suggest that tin had pharmaceu-                                                                                                 cuticle wax secreted on a strider’s leg is about
tical value9.Although organic tin compounds                                                                                                  105° (ref. 5), which is not enough to account
are now well known for their toxicological                                                                                                   for its marked water repellence. Knowing that
properties,inorganic forms seem to be largely                                                                                                microstructures on an object with low surface
                                                                            b
inert10. Hence, unless SnO2 was added owing                                                                                                  energy can enhance its hydrophobicity6, we
to some hitherto unrecognized medicinal                                                                                                      investigated the physical features of the legs.
attribute, we must conclude that its function                                                                                                    Scanning electronic micrographs revealed
was solely as a pigment. The non-toxic prop-                                                                                                 numerous oriented setae on the legs.These are
erties of SnO2 would also have been desir-                                                                                                   needle-shaped, with diameters ranging from
able, because by the second century AD the                                                                                                   3 micrometres down to several hundred
dangers of lead were becoming recognized9.                                                                                                   nanometres (Fig. 1b). Most setae are roughly
                                                                                                                                             50 m in length and arranged at an inclined
R. P. Evershed*, R. Berstan*, F. Grew†,
                                                                                                                                             angle of about 20° from the surface of leg.
M. S. Copley*, A. J. H. Charmant*,
                                                                                                                                             Many elaborate, nanoscale grooves are evi-
E. Barham†, H. R. Mottram*, G. Brown‡
                                                                                                                                             dent on each microseta, and these form a
*School of Chemistry, University of Bristol,
                                                                            c                                                                unique hierarchical structure (Fig.1c).
Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
                                                                                                                                                 According to Cassie’s law for surface wet-
e-mail:r.p.evershed@bristol.ac.uk
                                                                                                                                             tability, such microstructures can be regard-
†Museum of London, London Wall,
                                                                                                                                             ed as heterogeneous surfaces composed of
London EC2Y 5HN, UK
                                                                                                                                             solid and air7. The apparent contact angle l
‡Pre-Construct Archaeology, Unit 54, Brockley
                                                                                                                                             of the legs is described by cos l f1cos w f2,
Cross Business Centre, Endwell Road,
                                                                                                                                             where f1 is the area fraction of microsetae
London SE4 2PD, UK
                                                                                                                                             with nanogrooves, f2 is the area fraction of air
1. Durrani, N. Curr. Archaeol. 192, 540–547 (2004).
2. Beagrie, N. Britannia 20, 169–191 (1989).                                                                                                 on the leg surface and w is the contact angle
3. Copley, M. S. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 100,
                                                                                                                                             of the secreted wax. Using measured values
    1524–1529 (2003).
                                                                                                                                             of l and w, we deduce from the equation
4. Ralph, J. & Hatfield, R. D. J. Agric. Food Chem. 39,
                                                                                                                                             that the air fraction between the leg and the
    1426–1437 (1991).                                                   Figure 1 The non-wetting leg of a water strider. a, Typical side
5. Blakeney, A. B., Harris, P. J., Henry, R. J. & Stone, B. A.
                                                                                                                                             water surface corresponds to f2 96.86%.
                                                                        view of a maximal-depth dimple (4.38 0.02 mm) just before the
    Carbohyd. Res. 113, 291–299 (1983).
                                                                                                                                             Available air is trapped in spaces in the
                                                                        leg pierces the water surface. Inset, water droplet on a leg; this
6. PDF-2 Powder Diffraction Database (International Centre for
                                                                                                                                             microsetae and nanogrooves to form a cush-
                                                                        makes a contact angle of 167.6 4.4°. b, c, Scanning electron
    Diffraction Data, Pennsylvania, 1999).
                                                                                                                                             ion at the leg–water interface that prevents
7. Cert, A., Lanzón, A., Carelli, A. A., Albi, T. & Amelitti, G.        microscope images of a leg showing numerous oriented spindly
    Food Chem. 49, 287–293 (1994).
                                                                                                                                             the legs from being wetted.
                                                                        microsetae (b) and the fine nanoscale grooved structures on a
8. Pliny Natural History (ed. Rackham, H.) 9 (Loeb Classical
                                                                                                                                                 This unique hierarchical micro- and
                                                                        seta (c). Scale bars: b, 20 m; c, 200 nm.
    Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1944).
                                                                                                                                             nanostructuring on the leg’s surface there-
9. Riddle, J. M. in Dioscorides on Pharmacy and Medicine 153–154
    (Univ. of Texas Press, 1985).
                                                                        water surface (for methods, see supplemen-                           fore seems to be responsible for its water
10. Toxicological Profile for Tin and Tin Compounds (Agency for Toxic
                                                                        tary information). Surprisingly, the leg does                        resistance and the strong supporting force.
    Substances and Disease Registry, US Public Health Service, 2003).
                                                                        not pierce the water surface until a dimple of                       This clever arrangement allows water strid-
Competing financial interests: declared none.
                                                                        4.38 0.02 mm depth is formed (Fig. 1a).                              ers to survive on water even if they are being
                                                                        The maximal supporting force of a single leg                         bombarded by raindrops, when they bounce
                                                                        is 152 dynes (see supplementary informa-                             to avoid being drowned. Our discovery may
Biophysics
                                                                        tion),or about 15 times the total body weight                        be helpful in the design of miniature aquatic
Water-repellent legs                                                    of the insect. The corresponding volume of                           devices and non-wetting materials.
of water striders                                                       water ejected is roughly 300 times that of                           Xuefeng Gao*†, Lei Jiang*‡
                                                                        the leg itself, indicating that its surface is                       *Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of


W
         ater striders (Gerris remigis) have                            strikingly water repellent.                                          Chemistry, and the †Graduate School, Chinese
         remarkable non-wetting legs that                                   For comparison, we made a hydrophobic                            Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China
         enable them to stand effortlessly and                          ‘leg’ from a smooth quartz fibre that was                            ‡National Center for Nanoscience and
move quickly on water, a feature believed to                            similar in shape and size to a strider’s leg. Its                    Nanotechnology, Beijing 100080, China
be due to a surface-tension effect caused by                            surface was modified by a self-assembling                            e-mail: jianglei@iccas.ac.cn
secreted wax1–3. We show here, however, that                            monolayer of low-surface-energy hepta-                               1. Caponigro, M. A. & Erilsen, C. H. Am. Midland Nat. 95,
                                                                                                                                                268–278 (1976).
it is the special hierarchical structure of the                         decafluorodecyltrimethoxysilane (FAS-17),                            2. Dickinson, M. Nature 424, 621–622 (2003).
legs, which are covered by large numbers of                             which makes a contact angle of 109° with a                           3. Hu, D. L., Chan, B. & Bush, J. W. M. Nature 424, 663–666 (2003).
                                                                        water droplet on a flat surface4. Water sup-
oriented tiny hairs (microsetae) with fine                                                                                                   4. Tadanaga, K., Katata, N. & Minami, T. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 80,
                                                                                                                                                1040–1042 (1997).
nanogrooves, that is more important in                                  ports the artificial leg with a maximal force of                     5. Holdgate, M. W. J. Exp. Biol. 32, 591–617 (1955).
inducing this water resistance.                                         only 19.05 dynes (see supplementary infor-                           6. Feng, L. et al. Adv. Mater. 14, 1857–1860 (2002).
     We used a high-sensitivity balance system                          mation), which is enough to support the                              7. Cassie, A. B. D. & Baxter, S. Trans. Farad. Soc. 40, 546–551 (1944).
                                                                                                                                             Supplementary information accompanies this communication on
to construct force–displacement curves for                              strider at rest but not to enable it to glide or                     Nature’s website.
a water strider’s legs when pressing on the                             dart around rapidly on the surface.                                  Competing financial interests: declared none.

                                                                                                                                       NATURE | VOL 432 | 4 NOVEMBER 2004 | www.nature.com/nature
36
                                                                                   ©2004 Nature Publishing Group

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432036a

  • 1. brief communications dissolving lead shavings in vinegar8. Stannic This finding suggests that the force exerted a oxide would have been an acceptable substi- by the strider’s legs could be due to a ‘super- Vessel wall tute,with supplies being available through the hydrophobic’ effect (that is, the contact angle Cornish tin industry. The Romano–British with water would be greater than 150°). We Cantilever chemists probably believed that they were verified that this was indeed the case by sessile using a new source of cerussa, so confused water-drop measurements, which showed Leg were their encyclopaedias in distinguishing that that the contact angle of the insect’s legs lead from tin. with water was 167.6 4.4° (Fig.1a,inset). None of the surviving Greco–Roman med- The contact angle of water made with the ical corpora suggest that tin had pharmaceu- cuticle wax secreted on a strider’s leg is about tical value9.Although organic tin compounds 105° (ref. 5), which is not enough to account are now well known for their toxicological for its marked water repellence. Knowing that properties,inorganic forms seem to be largely microstructures on an object with low surface b inert10. Hence, unless SnO2 was added owing energy can enhance its hydrophobicity6, we to some hitherto unrecognized medicinal investigated the physical features of the legs. attribute, we must conclude that its function Scanning electronic micrographs revealed was solely as a pigment. The non-toxic prop- numerous oriented setae on the legs.These are erties of SnO2 would also have been desir- needle-shaped, with diameters ranging from able, because by the second century AD the 3 micrometres down to several hundred dangers of lead were becoming recognized9. nanometres (Fig. 1b). Most setae are roughly 50 m in length and arranged at an inclined R. P. Evershed*, R. Berstan*, F. Grew†, angle of about 20° from the surface of leg. M. S. Copley*, A. J. H. Charmant*, Many elaborate, nanoscale grooves are evi- E. Barham†, H. R. Mottram*, G. Brown‡ dent on each microseta, and these form a *School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, c unique hierarchical structure (Fig.1c). Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK According to Cassie’s law for surface wet- e-mail:r.p.evershed@bristol.ac.uk tability, such microstructures can be regard- †Museum of London, London Wall, ed as heterogeneous surfaces composed of London EC2Y 5HN, UK solid and air7. The apparent contact angle l ‡Pre-Construct Archaeology, Unit 54, Brockley of the legs is described by cos l f1cos w f2, Cross Business Centre, Endwell Road, where f1 is the area fraction of microsetae London SE4 2PD, UK with nanogrooves, f2 is the area fraction of air 1. Durrani, N. Curr. Archaeol. 192, 540–547 (2004). 2. Beagrie, N. Britannia 20, 169–191 (1989). on the leg surface and w is the contact angle 3. Copley, M. S. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 100, of the secreted wax. Using measured values 1524–1529 (2003). of l and w, we deduce from the equation 4. Ralph, J. & Hatfield, R. D. J. Agric. Food Chem. 39, that the air fraction between the leg and the 1426–1437 (1991). Figure 1 The non-wetting leg of a water strider. a, Typical side 5. Blakeney, A. B., Harris, P. J., Henry, R. J. & Stone, B. A. water surface corresponds to f2 96.86%. view of a maximal-depth dimple (4.38 0.02 mm) just before the Carbohyd. Res. 113, 291–299 (1983). Available air is trapped in spaces in the leg pierces the water surface. Inset, water droplet on a leg; this 6. PDF-2 Powder Diffraction Database (International Centre for microsetae and nanogrooves to form a cush- makes a contact angle of 167.6 4.4°. b, c, Scanning electron Diffraction Data, Pennsylvania, 1999). ion at the leg–water interface that prevents 7. Cert, A., Lanzón, A., Carelli, A. A., Albi, T. & Amelitti, G. microscope images of a leg showing numerous oriented spindly Food Chem. 49, 287–293 (1994). the legs from being wetted. microsetae (b) and the fine nanoscale grooved structures on a 8. Pliny Natural History (ed. Rackham, H.) 9 (Loeb Classical This unique hierarchical micro- and seta (c). Scale bars: b, 20 m; c, 200 nm. Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1944). nanostructuring on the leg’s surface there- 9. Riddle, J. M. in Dioscorides on Pharmacy and Medicine 153–154 (Univ. of Texas Press, 1985). water surface (for methods, see supplemen- fore seems to be responsible for its water 10. Toxicological Profile for Tin and Tin Compounds (Agency for Toxic tary information). Surprisingly, the leg does resistance and the strong supporting force. Substances and Disease Registry, US Public Health Service, 2003). not pierce the water surface until a dimple of This clever arrangement allows water strid- Competing financial interests: declared none. 4.38 0.02 mm depth is formed (Fig. 1a). ers to survive on water even if they are being The maximal supporting force of a single leg bombarded by raindrops, when they bounce is 152 dynes (see supplementary informa- to avoid being drowned. Our discovery may Biophysics tion),or about 15 times the total body weight be helpful in the design of miniature aquatic Water-repellent legs of the insect. The corresponding volume of devices and non-wetting materials. of water striders water ejected is roughly 300 times that of Xuefeng Gao*†, Lei Jiang*‡ the leg itself, indicating that its surface is *Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of W ater striders (Gerris remigis) have strikingly water repellent. Chemistry, and the †Graduate School, Chinese remarkable non-wetting legs that For comparison, we made a hydrophobic Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China enable them to stand effortlessly and ‘leg’ from a smooth quartz fibre that was ‡National Center for Nanoscience and move quickly on water, a feature believed to similar in shape and size to a strider’s leg. Its Nanotechnology, Beijing 100080, China be due to a surface-tension effect caused by surface was modified by a self-assembling e-mail: jianglei@iccas.ac.cn secreted wax1–3. We show here, however, that monolayer of low-surface-energy hepta- 1. Caponigro, M. A. & Erilsen, C. H. Am. Midland Nat. 95, 268–278 (1976). it is the special hierarchical structure of the decafluorodecyltrimethoxysilane (FAS-17), 2. Dickinson, M. Nature 424, 621–622 (2003). legs, which are covered by large numbers of which makes a contact angle of 109° with a 3. Hu, D. L., Chan, B. & Bush, J. W. M. Nature 424, 663–666 (2003). water droplet on a flat surface4. Water sup- oriented tiny hairs (microsetae) with fine 4. Tadanaga, K., Katata, N. & Minami, T. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 80, 1040–1042 (1997). nanogrooves, that is more important in ports the artificial leg with a maximal force of 5. Holdgate, M. W. J. Exp. Biol. 32, 591–617 (1955). inducing this water resistance. only 19.05 dynes (see supplementary infor- 6. Feng, L. et al. Adv. Mater. 14, 1857–1860 (2002). We used a high-sensitivity balance system mation), which is enough to support the 7. Cassie, A. B. D. & Baxter, S. Trans. Farad. Soc. 40, 546–551 (1944). Supplementary information accompanies this communication on to construct force–displacement curves for strider at rest but not to enable it to glide or Nature’s website. a water strider’s legs when pressing on the dart around rapidly on the surface. Competing financial interests: declared none. NATURE | VOL 432 | 4 NOVEMBER 2004 | www.nature.com/nature 36 ©2004 Nature Publishing Group