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Sundew plants (Drosera) capture insects using tiny drops of a viscoelastic fluid. Researchers have used simple capillary thinning microrheometry to study the rheology and non-Newtonian flow behaviour of these mucilage drops. They have provided new insight into the ‘capture mechanism’ of the sundew plant, also suggesting that this biofluid could be a model material for processing biodegradable fibers.
Microrheometry of sub-nanolitre biopolymer samples: non-Newtonian flow phenomena of carnivorous plant mucilage
Philipp Erni, Matthieu Varagnat, Christian Clasen, Jérôme Crest and Gareth H. McKinley
Soft Matter, 2011,
DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05815K
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