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I. Gebeshuber, R.M. Crawford:
"Diatoms - biotribological model systems for emerging micro- and nano-scale technologies";
Poster: 20. Treffen der deutschsprachigen Diatomologen mit int. Beteiligung, Trebon, Southern Bohemia/CZ; 25.03.2006; in: "Abstracts: 20. Treffen der deutschsprachigen Diatomologen mit int. Beteiligung", (2006), S. 12.

Tribology is the science of friction, adhesion, lubrication and wear. Man has done research in the field of tribology for several thousands of years whereas nature has been producing lubricants and adhesives for millions of years.

Biotribologists gather information about biological surfaces in relative motion, their friction, adhesion, lubrication and wear, and apply this knowledge to technological innovation as well as to the development of environmentally sound products.

Ongoing miniaturization of technological devices such as hard disk drives and biosensors increases the necessity for the fundamental understanding of tribological phenomena at the micro- and nanometer scale. Biological systems excel also at this scale and might serve as templates for developing the next generation of tools based on nano- and micro-scale technologies.

Diatoms with rigid parts in relative motion are examples of systems with optimized biotribological properties and might serve as model systems for innovations in micro- and nanotechnology [1], [2].

Keywords: biotribology; diatoms; tribology; biomimetics; applied nanobioscience.

References:
[1] I.C. Gebeshuber, H. Stachelberger and M. Drack (2005) Diatom bionanotribology - Biological surfaces in relative motion: their design, friction, adhesion, lubrication and wear, J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 5(1), pp. 79-87.
[2] I.C. Gebeshuber, H. Stachelberger and M. Drack M. (2005) Diatom tribology, in: Life Cycle Tribology, Eds.: D. Dowson, M. Priest, G. Dalmaz and A.A. Lubrecht, Tribology and Interface Engineering Series, No. 48, Series Editor B.J. Briscoe, Elsevier, pp. 365-370.