Cicada-style bactericidal

Use a rubber bag filled with water, put on a surface with many jagged nails. Although the surface is not too sharp, over time, the weight of water will also make the rubber bag sag, break. That's how cicadas kill bacteria when they cling to the wings of this species. Detection may lead to a new generation of antibacterial materials.

The team of Spanish and Australian scientists examined cicada wings through a microscope and discovered they possessed a matrix of nano-sized blunt spines. When a bacterium responds to this surface, they are still intact at first, over time the relatively elastic outer membrane of the bacteria will sag, break and death is inevitable.

To test, scientists used some bacteria, put them into the microwave to change the elasticity of their outer shell. The results show that bacteria with an elastic coating will die on cicada wings. Where this cover is tougher, they still exist on non-sharp nanoscale spikes.

According to Physorg magazine, this is the first time scientists have known a living organism that can kill bacteria just by its body shape and biological material. From this innovation, hope to open up the production of a variety of materials simulating cicada wing surfaces to kill bacteria such as handrails of stairs, doorknobs .