Skeleton of Euplectella sp.: structural hierarchy from the nanoscale to the macroscale.

Structural materials in nature exhibit remarkable designs with building blocks, often hierarchically arranged from the nanometer to the macroscopic length scales. We report on the structural properties of biosilica observed in the hexactinellid sponge Euplectella sp. Consolidated, nanometer-scaled silica spheres are arranged in well-defined microscopic concentric rings glued together by organic matrix to form laminated spicules. The assembly of these spicules into bundles, effected by the laminated silica-based cement, results in the formation of a macroscopic cylindrical square-lattice cagelike structure reinforced by diagonal ridges. The ensuing design overcomes the brittleness of its constituent material, glass, and shows outstanding mechanical rigidity and stability. The mechanical benefits of each of seven identified hierarchical levels and their comparison with common mechanical engineering strategies are discussed.

Biological glass fibers: correlation between optical and structural properties.

Biological systems have, through the course of time, evolved unique solutions for complex optical problems. These solutions are often achieved through a sophisticated control of fine structural features. Here we present a detailed study of the optical properties of basalia spicules from the glass sponge Euplectella aspergillum and reconcile them with structural characteristics. We show these biosilica fibers to have a distinctive layered design with specific compositional variations in the glass/organic composite and a corresponding nonuniform refractive index profile with a high-index core and a low-index cladding. The spicules can function as single-mode, few-mode, or multimode fibers, with spines serving as illumination points along the spicule shaft. The presence of a lens-like structure at the end of the fiber increases its light-collecting efficiency. Although free-space coupling experiments emphasize the similarity of these spicules to commercial optical fibers, the absence of any birefringence, the presence of technologically inaccessible dopants in the fibers, and their improved mechanical properties highlight the advantages of the low-temperature synthesis used by biology to construct these remarkable structures.

Elastomeric transistor stamps: reversible probing of charge transport in organic crystals.

We introduce a method to fabricate high-performance field-effect transistors on the surface of freestanding organic single crystals. The transistors are constructed by laminating a monolithic elastomeric transistor stamp against the surface of a crystal. This method, which eliminates exposure of the fragile organic surface to the hazards of conventional processing, enables fabrication of rubrene transistors with charge carrier mobilities as high as approximately 15 cm2/V.s and subthreshold slopes as low as 2nF.V/decade.cm2. Multiple relamination of the transistor stamp against the same crystal does not affect the transistor characteristics; we exploit this reversibility to reveal anisotropic charge transport at the basal plane of rubrene.