Steelcase Unit: Sharklet Technologies
“No antimicrobials. No chemicals. Just Sharklet.”
-Sharklet Technologies, Inc.
Teacher Background:
Explore the following questions with students:
How do we typically clean surfaces of bacteria? How does bacteria grow on
surfaces? How does nature clean surfaces?
This unit is centered around a new technology called Sharklet, a product that is
inspired by the shark’s skin. The Sharklet product has antibacterial properties and
can be used to inhibit bacterial growth on surfaces so that bacteria cannot grow.
Steelcase, a company that makes office and classroom furniture, is teaming up with
Sharklet to create furniture that is bacteria resistant so that bacteria are not able to
grow on the surfaces of chairs, desks and other common areas.
Science concepts:
Biomimicry, antibacterials, biodegradation
NGSS:
 HS-ETS1-3. Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on
prioritized criteria and tradeoffs that account for a range of constraints
including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as potential social,
cultural and environmental impacts.
● HS-ESS3-4. Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts
of human activities on natural systems.
● HS-PS2-6.Communicate scientific and technical information about why the
molecular-level structure is important in the functioning of designed
materials.
Background Readings and Resources:
PBS Video: Making Stuff: Smarter
http://video.pbs.org/video/1786635771/
Video Duration: 53 minutes (The first 10 minutes is enough to introduce Sharklet
technology)
Description: A great introduction to the Sharklet technology. The video explores a
new generation of ingenious materials, including a description of Sharklet
technology, along with many other interesting new products. The description of the
Sharklet technology is at the beginning of the video (the first example). Therefore,
the first 10 minutes of the video will be sufficient to introduce the Sharklet
technology inspired by sharks.
Materials (per student group):
 1 piece of Sharklet film (cut small: 1-2 inch square piece)
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1 sheet of white paper
1 piece of overhead transparency film
1 laser pointer
1 ring stand
2 clamps (one clamp and one ring clamp)
12 inch ruler with cm and mm scale
Sticky dots (craft store) (3 mm Adhesive Rhinestones, or similar)
Sticky notes (Post It™)
10-20 Binder clips
Tape
Recommended Procedure:
1. Use the powerpoint presentation to introduce the lesson to the students.
2. Watch the PBS video (first 10 minutes) to introduce the Sharklet technology.
3. Hand out the student sheet and have the students set up their ring stands.
We recommend having the laser pointer roughly 22cm above the ring clamp
(where the Sharklet film will be) and the ring clamp roughly 12 cm above the
bottom of the stand. As shown in the following picture: (The laser pointer can
be held at that distance above the Sharklet film as an option.)
4. Place the Sharklet film on the ring clamp and the paper on the bottom of the
ring stand (the students might need to put a notebook under the paper since
they will be writing on the paper).
5. One student will press the laser pointer to turn it on and the other will write
on the paper – they will see a diamond-like pattern. They should mark the
dots and create a diamond pattern on the paper. Note that they will only be
seeing the edges of the Sharklet pattern in the reflection, so they should
marks the edges of the pattern. Remember that the pattern looks like the
following picture (also in the ppt slides):
6. The students will then use the sticky dots to create a pattern on the overhead
transparency film. They should overlay the transparency on top of the paper
and create the pattern. Have them make only about 3 diamond shapes from
the pattern, similar to this picture:
7. They will then test how post-it notes will stick to the surface of their pattern
in comparison to the plain overhead transparency film. You can explain that
the post-it note is similar to bacteria trying to stick to the surface of a piece of
furniture. Have the students tape the transparency film up on the wall (see
picture on the right), or white board so that they can test the strength of the
adherence of the post-it notes on the different surfaces.
8. Use small binder clips to determine how well the post-it
note will stick to the surface. The students should only be
able to clip about 3 binder clips to the post-it that is on the
Sharklet pattern before it falls off, and many more on the
post-it that is stuck only to the transparency film.
9. Have the students calculate how much larger their model
is than the actual pattern on the Sharklet film. Use the
following table for reference:
Centimeter
Millimeter
Micrometer (micron)
Nanometer
cm
mm
µm
nm
1/100th (10-2) of a meter
1/1000th (10-3) of a meter
1/1,000,000th (10-6) of a meter
1/1,000,000,000th (10-9) of a
meter
Student Sheet
People get sick by the spreading of bacteria that are transmitted from person to
person by direct contact with that person, or by contact with surfaces in which the
sick person touched. If you think about all of the surfaces that you touch everyday,
there are many, many times that you could be exposed to different bacteria (door
knobs, desk tops, computer keyboards, shopping carriages, etc.).
How do we try to reduce the risk of spreading bacteria? Washing your own hands is
a very effective way since you can ensure that your own hands don’t carry any
harmful bacteria.
Cleaning surfaces with soap, antibacterial cleaners, or other disinfectants is another
effective way of sanitizing common areas. However, antibacterials are washed down
the drain and get into our waterways. These antibacterial agents do not break down
in the environment, which can lead to a number of different issues with bacterial
resistance.
Today we will explore a new way of solving the problem of having surfaces that are
free from bacteria. You will be introduced to a new product called Sharklet that is
inspired by shark skin. This new product is being used to create surfaces that will
inhibit the growth of bacteria. Therefore, we can have desks, chairs, and other
common areas that will not transmit germs from one person to another.
In this lab, we will have a closer look at the Sharklet film that is being used as a
bacteriostatic surface, or a surface that will inhibit the growth of bacteria.
PreLab Questions:
1. What is bacteria, and how does bacteria grow?
2. How do people manage bacteria growth? Cite some traditional ways to
manage bacteria growth.
3. What is Sharklet? How does it work?
4. What are the most important physical and chemical properties of Sharklet?
5. What are the cautionary steps use when using lasers?
Materials
 1 piece of Sharklet film
 1 sheet of white paper
 1 piece of overhead transparency film
 1 laser pointer
 1 ring stand
 2 clamps (one clamp and one ring clamp)
 12 inch ruler with cm and mm scale
 Sticky dots (craft store) for model
 Sticky notes (Post It™)
 Binder clips
 Tape
Procedure
1. Set up your ring stand by attaching the laser pointer with the clamp high. Lay
the Sharklet film on top of an iron ring and place a white sheet of paper at the
bottom (see Fig. 1) Hint: The laser pointer should be at 22 cm above the iron
ring and the iron ring should be at 12 cm above the surface of the white
paper below.
Figure 1
2. Shine the laser pointer over the Sharklet film. You should be able to see a
pattern of light (dots) on the paper surface below. CAUTION: Do not stare
into the laser beam, avoid exposure to the laser radiation.
3. Using a pencil, mark carefully the laser light dots reflected on the paper. The
pattern of the Sharklet’s surface should be easily reproduced through this
method.
4. Measure the distance between the dots in millimeters throughout the design
and make a note on your piece of paper to record the distance.
5. Overlay the overhead transparency film on top of your paper with the
Sharklet design on it. Using the small sticky dots provided, create the
Sharklet diamond pattern on an overhead transparency film.
6. Hang your overhead transparency film with the Sharklet design onto the wall
using tape. Test your model against a flat surface by placing a sticky note on
both and hanging binder clips on the sticky note. How many binder clips can
each sticky note hold before falling off the surface? Record your
observations:
Number of binder clips hung on sticky note on flat surface: ______________
Number of binder clips hung on sticky note on Sharklet surface:____________
7. Using the following image of the Sharket surface, calculate how much larger
your model of the Sharklet design is compared to the actual surface. Note
that the scale bar indicates the pattern is shown in microns (micrometers,
µm). Use the following table for reference:
Centimeter
Millimeter
Micrometer (micron)
Nanometer
cm
mm
µm
nm
1/100th (10-2) of a meter
1/1000th (10-3) of a meter
1/1,000,000th (10-6) of a meter
1/1,000,000,000th (10-9) of a meter
Post-Lab Questions:
1. Why did you see a difference in adherence of the sticky note to the two
different surfaces? Did you get the results that you expected? Why or why
not?
2. How is a bacteriostat different from sanitizers, disinfectants and sterilizers?
3. Is the pattern on the surface of the Sharklet film larger or smaller than a
nanometer?