Jan. 23, 2009 -- The circular teeth squid use to snag and handle prey could lead to strong but lightweight, environmentally friendly composite materials, according to new research.
"This is a very unique microscopic architecture," said David Kisailus, a professor at the University of California, Riverside, and co-author on a paper detailing the research in the journal Advanced Materials. "We should be able to translate this into new materials."
To study co-author James Weaver, the research is personal. Several years ago Weaver hauled a jumbo squid aboard his ship with a fishing pole. While Weaver was removing the lure, one of the squid's tentacles shot out and latched onto his naked arm.
"When I pulled away my arm was literally covered in blood," said Weaver. "We realized then the sheer power that can be exerted by the rings, and decided to keep studying the material."
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The scientists were surprised by what they found.
Most marine structures, including the beak-like mouth of squid, the exoskeleton of shrimp and lobsters, and the shells of clams and oysters, are a mix of protein and crystallized minerals. The protein acts like a shock absorber while the crystals provide strength. The circular squid teeth contained no crystals, yet they were still very strong and tough.
The teeth get their strength from architecture. A series of tooth pores runs through the protein, and on the outer edge the pores are spaced widely for a hard, shape edge that digs into the flesh of hapless prey. Toward the base, the pores are closer together, making a softer material that can absorb the prey's thrashing without breaking.
Dosidicus gigas, commonly called the Humboldt squid and nicknamed the Red Devil for its voracious appetite and pack hunting technique, isn't the only toothy species. All squid species have protein-based teeth, though they don't all look alike. Dosidicus has larger than average teeth because it hunts larger and faster prey than most squid species. The teeth of other species reflect the prey they hunt -- smaller teeth for smaller prey.
The protein teeth are lightweight and tough. The scientists predict that mimicking the structure could be ideal for lightweight composites for the automotive, aerospace, sports and medical industries.
Such products would likely be environmentally friendly and relatively cheap to manufacture, since the reactions that produce squid teeth don't require exotic ingredients, harsh chemicals or temperature extremes.
Reproducing nature's proteins has proven difficult at best. Spider silk, which pound for pound is stronger than steel cable, has yet to be mass produced despite decades of work.
"It's not been trivial to translate discoveries of biological strategies into real materials," said Paul Hansma, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "I'm more excited about using bio-inspired structures because you can work on bigger scales sooner than using the bio-inspired material itself."
"This is wonderful work that is interesting because of both the composition of the material and its structure," he said.
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