Bioinspired Adhesive Architectures: From Skin Patch to Integrated Bioelectronics

Abstract

The attachment phenomena of various hierarchical architectures found in nature have extensively drawn attention for developing highly biocompatible adhesive on skin or wet inner organs without any chemical glue. Structural adhesive systems have become important to address the issues of human-machine interactions by smart outer/inner organ-attachable devices for diagnosis and therapy. Here, advances in designs of biologically inspired adhesive architectures are reviewed in terms of distinct structural properties, attachment mechanisms to biosurfaces by physical interactions, and noteworthy fabrication methods. Recent demonstrations of bioinspired adhesive architectures as adhesive layers for medical applications from skin patches to multifunctional bioelectronics are presented. To conclude, current challenges and prospects on potential applications are also briefly discussed.

Keywords: bioelectronics; biomimetics; dry adhesives; nanostructures; skin patches.