Biology -- Biological prototypes for bio-inspired adhesives -- Adhesion and friction in biological attachment systems -- Fabrication -- New routes for large-scale fabrication of bio-inspired adhesives Characterization -- Bridging the gap: from JKR-like to conformal adhesion testing -- Adhesion, Friction, and Contact Mechanics -- Adhesion scaling of mushroom-shaped adhesive elements -- Different failure types in the adhesion of bio-inspired adhesives -- Material, structural, and material property gradients in fibrillar adhesive systems -- Role of viscoelasticity in bio-inspired adhesives -- Friction of hexagonally patterned elastomeric films -- Switchability -- Pressure sensitive adhesion: switchable adhesion by curvature control of inflated elastic membranes -- Current strategies of switchable adhesion -- Applications.

This book deals with the adhesion, friction and contact mechanics of living organisms. Further, it presents the remarkable adhesive abilities of the living organisms which inspired the design of novel micro- and nanostructured adhesives that can be used in various applications, such as climbing robots, reusable tapes, and biomedical bandages. The technologies for both the synthesis and construction of bio-inspired adhesive micro- and nanostructures, as well as their performance, are discussed in detail. Representatives of several animal groups, such as insects, spiders, tree frogs, and lizards, are able to walk on (and therefore attach to) tilted, vertical surfaces, and even ceilings in different environments. Studies have demonstrated that their highly specialized micro- and nanostructures, in combination with particular surface chemistries, are responsible for this impressive and reversible adhesion. These structures can maximize the formation of large effective contact areas on surfaces of varying roughness and chemical composition under different environmental conditions.