Mind Trip: Med tech of the future inspired by shark skin.
Shark’s skin in amazing: it does not collect algae, slime, and barnacles as well as germs and bacteria such as E Coli and Staphylococcus aureus.
“Engineer Tony Brennan, who was trying to design a better barnacle-preventative coating for Navy ships, learned about sharks skin in 2003. Investigating the skin further, he discovered that a shark’s entire body is covered in miniature, bumpy scales, like a carpet of tiny teeth.” (Mental Floss) And organisms like those mentioned above, can’t grab a hold and stay on.
So based on what he learned about shark skin, he started a company called Sharklet and began using the sharkskin concept to make a coating that repels germs.
“Sharklet is the world’s first technology to inhibit bacterial growth through pattern alone. The Sharklet surface is comprised of millions of microscopic features arranged in a distinct diamond pattern. The structure of the pattern alone inhibits bacteria from attaching, colonizing and forming biofilms. Sharklet contains no toxic additives or chemicals, and uses no antibiotics or antimicrobials.” (Sharklet)
The products available today include catheters, endotracheal tubes, wound dressings, and adhesively backed film for door handles and light switches.
Especially now with Superbugs and more antibiotic resistant viruses, this sounds like a great preventative measure to stop them from spreading.
We here at the Mind Tripping Show love sharing the really wonderful and beneficial science that is being created to save lives. If you know of any discoveries, please let us know.