Newar Janu, Ghatak Archana
KIIT School of Biotechnology, KIIT University , Bhubaneswar 751024, India.
Langmuir. 2015 Nov 10;31(44):12155-60. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b03498. Epub 2015 Oct 27.
Many gastropod molluscs are known to secrete mucus which allow these animals to adhere to a substrate while foraging over it. While the mucus is known to provide strong adhesion to both dry and wet surfaces, including both horizontal and vertical ones, no systematic study has been carried out to understand the strength of such adhesion under different conditions. We report here results from preliminary studies on adhesion characteristics of the mucus of a snail found in eastern India, Macrochlamys indica. When perturbed, the snail was found to secrete its adhesive mucus, which was collected and subjected to regular adhesion tests. The hydrated mucus was used as such, and also as mixed with buffer of different pH. These experiments suggest that the mucus was slightly alkaline, and showed the maximum adhesion strength of 9 kPa when present in an alkaline buffer. Preliminary studies indicate that adhesive force is related to the ability of the mucus to incorporate water. In alkaline condition, the gel like mass that it forms, incorporate water from a wet surface and enable strong adhesion.
许多腹足纲软体动物都已知会分泌黏液，这些黏液能使这些动物在其表面觅食时附着在基质上。虽然已知这种黏液能在干燥和湿润表面（包括水平和垂直表面）提供强大的附着力，但尚未进行系统研究以了解在不同条件下这种附着力的强度。我们在此报告对印度东部发现的一种蜗牛——印度巨蛤蜊（Macrochlamys indica）黏液附着力特性的初步研究结果。当受到干扰时，发现这种蜗牛会分泌其黏性黏液，收集该黏液并进行常规附着力测试。将水合黏液直接使用，也将其与不同pH值的缓冲液混合使用。这些实验表明，该黏液呈微碱性，当存在于碱性缓冲液中时，显示出最大附着力为9千帕。初步研究表明，黏附力与黏液吸收水分的能力有关。在碱性条件下，它形成的凝胶状物质会从湿润表面吸收水分并实现强大的附着力。
