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Effect of honeybee stinger and its microstructured barbs on insertion and pull force
Jintian Ling1, Zhenhua Song2, Jiarui Wang2
1Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Sensor Technology and Biomedical Instrument, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, PR China; Department of Medical Equipment, Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510150, China.
Honeybee stingers, with their natural geometry, offer painless insertion and strong adhesion. This study reveals their design principles could inspire better microneedles for drug delivery and bio-signal recording.
Area of Science:
- Biomimetics
- Materials Science
- Mechanics
Background:
- Honeybee stingers possess unique natural geometry for self-defense, enabling painless penetration and adhesion.
- Understanding these properties can inform the design of advanced biomedical tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the geometry of Apis cerana worker honeybee stingers.
- To compare the insertion and pull-out forces of honeybee stingers with acupuncture microneedles in biological tissue.
- To investigate the mechanical mechanisms of stinger insertion and adhesion using finite element analysis.
Main Methods:
- Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for stinger and microneedle characterization.
- Mechanical loading equipment for insertion and pull-out force measurements in rabbit skin.
- Nonlinear finite element method (FEM) to simulate insertion and pull processes.
Main Results:
- Honeybee stingers exhibited significantly lower average penetration force (5.75mN) than acupuncture microneedles.
- Stingers demonstrated a much higher average pull-out force (113.50mN) compared to microneedles (approx. 70x greater).
- FEM revealed stress concentrations at the stinger tip and barbs during insertion, with barbs causing skin tearing upon withdrawal.
Conclusions:
- The ultrasharp tip and barbs of honeybee stingers minimize insertion force while maximizing pull-out force through mechanical interlocking.
- Nature's optimized stinger geometry provides valuable insights for designing improved microneedles.
- Findings may inspire advancements in painless transdermal drug delivery and bio-signal recording technologies.
