Sharks have been around on this planet for over 400 million years. These massive fish have lived through many different environmental changes and have come out nearly unscathed. They have grown and evolved into what we know them as today. It is not surprising that we look to their biology for inspiration to improve our own resilience.
Millions of infections and deaths occur all around the world annually due to bacterial infections. Many patients are at great risk of bacterial infections, from simply touching a door handle. With the increased use of antibiotics, bacteria continue to evolve and become resistant forcing us to make new and stronger antibiotics frequently. Sharkskin and other antibacterial surfaces have been of great inspiration to recent medical designs. The patterns on the surface of the sharkskin are not there for aesthetic purposes. It is extremely vital to the quality of life of the shark and the way in which it navigates its environment. We have discovered just how helpful sharkskin is to the survival of the shark and have realized that the structures on its skin can be very helpful to us in many ways. In this article I will be discussing the way in which sharkskin works to help the shark survive, the advantages that would come if we mimicked it, and the devices and materials that have already implemented the sharkskin structure to their surfaces.
How it works
When creating biomaterials, it is important that antibiotics are used minimally within them. It is also important that it continues to maintain its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and biocompatibility properties with the use of as little antibiotics as possible. Having too many antibiotics causes bacteria to develop resistance, and not having enough antibiotics causes the biomaterials to be infected with bacteria that clings to it and destroys it before it can even do its job.
This is why in the past couple of years, different surface topographies have been explored. A biomaterial that is inserted into the body is able to go through the body and complete its given task without too much bacteria sticking to it and eventually destroying it. That is the ultimate goal with the exploration of these unique surfaces. So far the main surfaces that have shown the most promising results are the dragonfly wings, sharkskin, and gecko skin. These three skins have shown a great ability to reduce the bonding of bacteria to their surfaces.
The outermost layer, epidermis, of the sharkskin has been mimicked for its amazing biological properties. A structure called the denticle greatly helps in increasing the friction, which in turn reduces the drag force allowing for smoother and faster movement in water and fluids. The denticles are also the reason why bacteria doesn’t easily cling to the surface of the sharkskin. A study reported that 50 percent of bacterial biofilm growths on biomaterials were lost due to the pattern of the denticles on the sharkskin.(Rostami S., Tekkeşin A. I., Ercan U. K., Garipcan B.)
Different applications
Sharkskin is actively being studied to see if it can be used on medical devices to reduce biofouling. Biofouling is basically the accumulation and buildup of microorganisms, plants, and small animals on surfaces of ships, submarines, pipes, etc. This can also happen on medical devices, putting patients in which the device was implanted, at great risk of infections.
Biofouling occurs in the body because when the device is implanted into the body, the human body is able to tell that it is a foreign entity, which leads to enclosure of this device with all of these bacteria and biological microorganisms. Sharkskin has been a great anti-biofouling solution. The structure of the surface allows for way less bacterial adhesion and so a reduced amount of biofouling. This leads to greater sterility in hospitals and labs, and a reduced risk of contracting certain diseases.
The great advantages of sharkskin also extend to marine vessels. Ships that have used sharkskin biomimicry on their surfaces have been shown to have a 10 percent improvement in their speed, and efficiency in the use of fuel. Airplanes and cars that have used the sharkskin surfaces have also shown a great reduction in air resistance, allowing for more speed and lower fuel consumption, reducing the emissions produced by them.
In 2010, sharkskin-inspired bodysuits and swimwear were banned from the Olympics due to the significant advantage it gave its wearers in the two years prior. The suits were so effective that they drastically changed the world records in those years. Functional clothing and gear are now being used in sharkskin surface patterns to enhance speed in water, durability, and antibacterial properties. Nowadays sharkskin inspired surfaces are used in many public spaces, such as door handles and hospital walls to reduce the amount of bacteria sticking and being transferred from person to person.
Advantages
There are many advantages that come with using sharkskin inspired surfaces. Some include:
Drag reduction; This refers to a significant drop in the drag of the materials making it move smoothly and increasing its speed. This could be very helpful for biomaterials that are implanted into a patient to be able to move smoother through the blood stream and reach its destination faster.
Antibacterial; The structure of the sharkskin doesn’t allow bacteria to stick to it very easily. This antibacterial adhesion property is also another reason why it has a great drag reduction, as there are fewer things weighing and slowing it down.
Fewer antibiotics; Using sharkskin in biomaterials allows us to use fewer antibiotics in the administration of drugs and medicines. This is very useful as it reduces antibiotic resistance in bacteria, because they are not getting exposed to as many antibiotics anymore.
Long-lasting: The structure of the surface of the sharkskin allows the surface of the material to last longer and withstand many environments. This also in turn improves the overall lifetime of the whole material in itself, because if the surface is protected, then the rest of the material is protected.
Environmental; The long-lasting effect of the sharkskin materials allows for less maintenance throughout the years for many machines. The efficiency at which the materials work and run also allows for lesser consumption of fuel, leading to a cleaner and healthier environment.
Conclusion
Over 400 million years ago these tooth-like structures called dermal denticles first appeared on sharks. As the environment changed and evolved, the denticles themselves also evolved. Ultimately, sharks with denticles that increased swimming speed, protection against microorganisms, and abrasion survived better in more environments than ones without. Due to natural selection, all sharks now have these properties on the surfaces of their skin. Even now, the shark denticles continue to evolve to help them in their environments. There are species that have evolved denticles that allow for camouflage and other species that have denticles that are bioluminescent. It is no wonder that these amazing evolutionary changes inspire and allow us to improve the machines and materials in our daily lives. Sharkskin has proven to be greatly advantageous to the medical field, and with more research and time we will be able to further the effectiveness of our medical devices and biomaterials.
Bibliography
Dorofeev D. (2021, November 17). How could sharks lead to new medical devices?
American Chemical Society. (2018, June 13). Attacking bacteria with shark skin-inspired surfaces.
Lassoff, S. (2025, July 11). Shark Skin-Inspired Surfaces: Biomimicry in action.
Admin. (2025, October 6). The Amazing Origins of Anti-Bacterial Shark Skin: Nature’s Design in action.
Nielsen, M. (2025, February 25). Mimicking shark skin to create clean cutting boards – AIP Publishing LLC.
Rostami S., Tekkeşin A. I., Ercan U. K., Garipcan B. (2022, March). Biomimetic sharkskin surfaces with antibacterial, cytocompatible, and drug delivery properties.
