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The Nature of the Gecko Lizard Adhesive Force

Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Singapore 138669

Correspondence: Address reprint requests and inquiries to Pavel Neuzil, pneuzil{at}ibn.a-star.edu.sg.

The extraordinary climbing skills of gecko lizards have been under investigation for a long time. Here we report results of direct measurement of single spatula forces in air with varying relative humidities and in water, by the force-distance method using an atomic force microscope. We have found that the presence of water strongly affects the adhesion force and from analysis of our results, we have demonstrated that the dominant force involved is the capillary force.

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