2016年4月7日，Nature在线发表了北京航空航天大学陈华伟教授、张德远教授和江雷研究员等的合作研究成果“Continuous directional water transport on the peristome surface of Nepenthes alata”（猪笼草口缘区表面液膜连续定向搬运机制）。该研究揭示了生物体表面结构无动力液膜搬运现象的原理，为机械表面/界面的仿生设计与生物制造奠定了理论与技术基础。论文连接：http://www.nature.com/nature/jou ... ll/nature17189.html
Continuous directional water transport on the peristome surface of Nepenthes alata
Huawei Chen,
Pengfei Zhang,
Liwen Zhang,
Hongliang Liu,
Ying Jiang,
Deyuan Zhang,
Zhiwu Han
& Lei Jiang
Nature 532, 85–89 (07 April 2016) doi:10.1038/nature17189 Received 18 February 2015 Accepted 25 January 2016 Published online 06 April 2016
Numerous natural systems contain surfaces or threads that enable directional water transport1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. This behaviour is usually ascribed to hierarchical structural features at the microscale and nanoscale, with gradients in surface energy8, 9 and gradients in Laplace pressure10 thought to be the main driving forces. Here we study the prey-trapping pitcher organs of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes alata. We find that continuous, directional water transport occurs on the surface of the ‘peristome’—the rim of the pitcher—because of its multiscale structure, which optimizes and enhances capillary rise11, 12 in the transport direction, and prevents backflow by pinning in place any water front that is moving in the reverse direction. This results not only in unidirectional flow despite the absence of any surface-energy gradient, but also in a transport speed that is much higher than previously thought. We anticipate that the basic ‘design’ principles underlying this behaviour could be used to develop artificial fluid-transport systems with practical applications.
