Insights into the Multilevel Structural Characterization and Adsorption Mechanism of <i>Sinogastromyzon</i> <i>szechuanensis</i> Sucker on the Rough Surface

• Main Authors: Qian Cong, Jin Xu, Jiaxiang Fan, Tingkun Chen, Shaofeng Ru
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
• Series: Life
• Subjects: <i>Sinogastromyzon</i> <i>szechuanensis</i>; adsorption; sucker; multilevel structure; mechanism analysis; spectral function
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/9/952

The present study investigates the adsorption performance and adsorption mechanism of <i>Sinogastromyzon szechuanensis</i> on different rough surfaces. The different positions of the sucker surface of <i>Sinogastromyzon</i> <i>szechuanensis</i> were observed by adopting the stereomicroscope and SEM. The observed results showed that the sucker of <i>Sinogastromyzon</i><i>szechuanensis</i> had a multilevel structure of villi and groove. The anterior and posterior of <i>Sinogastromyzon</i><i>szechuanensis</i> had different microscopic morphologies. The surface roughness of the adsorption substrate ranged from 7 μm to 188 μm. Adsorption strength of <i>Sinogastromyzon</i><i>szechuanensis</i> and the conventional sucker on different rough surfaces were measured by a purposely designed device. The results showed that the back of <i>Sinogastromyzon</i><i>szechuanensis</i> mainly provided the adsorption strength. The adsorption strength of the conventional sucker gradually decreased with surface roughness increasing, but the adsorption strength of <i>Sinogastromyzon</i> <i>szechuanensis</i> had not changed significantly. Based on the experimental results, the adsorption mechanism of <i>Sinogastromyzon</i><i>szechuanensis</i> on the surface with different roughness was analyzed by the spectral function. The <i>Sinogastromyzon</i><i>szechuanensis</i> sucker with a multilevel structure worked well on the rough surface, which led to <i>Sinogastromyzon</i><i>szechuanensis</i> with a good sealing on the rough surface. The present work could help to develop a new type of sucker with effective adsorption performance on a rough surface to meet the needs of the engineering field.