Nature contains a range of biomaterials that possess extraordinary features that are often the source of inspiration for developing next-generation materials.  One main focus of our group is on bioadhesives of spider silks, gecko setae, bacterial and so on, which show intriguing behavior governed by factors including complex molecular design, mechanical strength, humidity, and self-cleaning, to name a few. Their unique properties lay a strong foundation for research in developing new bioinspired materials. Inspired by bird feathers colors, we also explore structural colors, which are remarkable for their color tunability and resistance to chemical and photo bleaching compared with traditional pigmentary colors. Overall, our group studies the basic principles governing these unique systems and utilizes the concepts to develop engineered materials.

Recent Publications

Echeverri M. Patil A., Hu Z., Shawkey M. D., Gianneschi N. C., Dhinojwala A., “Printing a Wide Gamut of Saturated Structural Colors Using Binary Mixtures, With Applications in Anticounterfeiting”, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020 12, 19882−1988

Wang Z., Tschirhart T., Schultzhaus Z., Kelly E. E., Chen A., Oh E., Nag O., Glaser E. R., Kim E., Lloyd P. F., Charles P. T., Li W., Leary D., Compton J., Phillips D. A., Dhinojwala A., Payne G. F. Voraa G. J., “Melanin Produced by the Fast-Growing Marine Bacterium Vibrio natriegens through Heterologous Biosynthesis: Characterization and Application”, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2020 86 (5) e02749-19

Diaz C, Maksuta D, Amarpuri G, Tanikawa A, Miyashita T, Dhinojwala A, Blackledge TA. , “The moth specialist spider Cyrtarachne akirai uses prey scales to increase adhesion”. J. R. Soc. Interface 2020. 17: 20190792. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2019.0792

Wei Cao, Naneki C. McCallum, Qing Zhe Ni, Weiyao Li, Hannah Boyce, Haochuan Mao, Xuhao Zhou, Hao Sun, Matthew P. Thompson, Claudia Battistella, Michael R. Wasielewski, Ali Dhinojwala, Matthew D. Shawkey, Michael D. Burkart, Zheng Wang, Nathan C. Gianneschi, “Selenomelanin: An Abiotic Selenium Analogue of Pheomelanin” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020 142 (29), 12802-12810

Langowski J.K.A., Singla S., Nyarko A., Schipper H., van den Berg F.T., Kaur S,  Astley H.C.,  Gussekloo S.W.S, Dhinojwala A. and  van Leeuwen J.L.; “Comparative and functional analysis of the digital mucus glands and secretions of tree frog”, front. biol., 2019, 16 (9), 1-16, DOI 10.1186/s12983-019-0315-z.

Echeverri, M.;  Patil, A.; Xiao, M.; Li, W.; Shawkey, M.D.;Dhinojwala, A. “Developing Noniridescent Structural Color on Flexible Substrates with High Bending Resistance”, Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2019.

S. I. Han; H. C. Astley; D. D. Maksuta; T. A. Blackledge, “External power amplification drives prey capture in a spider web”, PNAS, 2019, 1-6.

Smith, D. E.; Dhinojwala, A.;Moore, Francisco B.-G. “Effect of Substrate and Bacterial Zeta Potential on Adhesion of Mycobacterium smegmatis“, Langmuir, 2019.

Niewiarowski, P. H.; Dhinojwala, A.; Garner, A. M.; “A physical model approach to gecko adhesion opportunity and constraint: How rough could it be?”, Integr. Comp. Biol., 2019.

Garner, A. M.; Wilson, C. W.; Russel, A. P.; Dhinojwala, A., Niewiarowski, P.; “Going Out on a Limb: How Investigation of the Anoline Adhesive System Can Enhance Our Understanding of Fibrillar Adhesion”, Integr. Comp. Biol., 2019, pp1-9.