Wet-Tolerant Adhesive Patch Inspired by Octopi

Researchers have developed an artificial, biologically inspired, reversible wet/dry adhesion system that is based on the dome-like protuberances found in the suction cups of octopi. To mimic the architecture of these protuberances, they use a simple, solution-based, air-trap technique that involves fabricating a patterned structure as a polymeric master and using it to produce a reversed architecture, without any sophisticated chemical syntheses or surface modifications.