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Meeting Abstract

S10-11   15:30 - 16:00  Groovy and gnarly: Surface wrinkles as a multi-functional motif for terrestrial and marine environments Surapaneni, V A*; Schindler, M; de Faria, L; Ziege, R; Bidan, C; Mollen, F; Amini, S; Hanna, S; Dean, M; Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany; University College London, London, UK; Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany; Elasmobranch Research Belgium, Bonheiden, Belgium; Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany; University College London, London, UK; City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong svamarnadh@gmail.com

From large undulations on the skin of elephant trunks to nanoscale grooves on flower petals, wrinkled structures are omnipresent, multifunctional, and found at hugely diverse scales. Depending on the particulars of the biological system —its environment, morphology, and mechanical characteristics— wrinkles may control adhesion, friction, wetting, or drag; promote interfacial exchange; act as flow channels; or contribute to stretching, mechanical integrity, or structural color. Undulations on natural surfaces are primarily instabilities arising from stress-induced buckling of surface layers during growth or ageing. Variation in the material properties of surface layers and in the magnitude and orientation of intrinsic stresses during growth lead to a variety of wrinkling morphologies and patterns which, in turn, reflect the wide range of biophysical challenges wrinkled surfaces can solve. Therefore, investigating how surface wrinkles vary and are implemented across biological systems is key to understanding their structure-function relationships. In this work, we synthesize the literature in a metadata analysis of surface wrinkling in various terrestrial and marine organisms to review important morphological parameters and classify functional aspects of surface wrinkles in relation to the size and ecology of organisms. Building on our previous and current experimental studies, we explore case studies on nano/micro-scale wrinkles in biofilms, plant surfaces, and basking shark filter structures to compare developmental and structure-vs-function aspects of wrinkles with vastly different size scales and environmental demands. In doing this and by contrasting wrinkle development in soft and hard biological systems, we lay out structural rules for biological tissues, as well as for functionalized wrinkled biomimetic surfaces.