Fig. 1 | Nature Communications

Fig. 1

From: Hygroscopic compounds in spider aggregate glue remove interfacial water to maintain adhesion in humid conditions

Fig. 1

Immobilizing the capture silk glue. Multiple capture silk beads-on-a string (BOAS) strands, comprised of aggregate glue droplets (beads) supported on an underlying flagelliform thread (string), are collected from 2–3 webs of Larinioides cornutus and deposited on a clean sapphire prism (a, b). The sapphire prism with multiple BOAS strands is exposed to high humidity to allow complete spreading of aggregate glue droplets, as depicted in the optical microscope image (c). Scale bar is 100 μm. The sapphire prism with multiple BOAS strands is mounted onto a sample holder and the whole assembly is connected to a humidity setup for collecting SFG spectra at different relative humidities, the schematic of which is shown in panel d

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