The Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism (2018)

Generating these high pressures requires a significant amount of energy due to the large pressures used (over 1000 bar) to ensure proper atomization of the liquid. The beetle spray system requires substantially less energy to properly atomize the liquid, as all that is required is to heat the system to a relatively modest temperature. B. Drug Delivery Systems Another potential application of the ability to produce small droplet sizes is to the design of next-generation drug delivery systems. For many illnesses, the preferred method of drug delivery is directly to the lungs. This is best achieved using small droplet sizes (typically less than 10 µm) that allow the liquid to travel deep into the lungs, where it can be most rapidly absorbed into the blood stream. The inherent efficacy of inhaled therapeutic drugs makes this a key development area for this invention and could potentially provide a generic drug delivery system, with one unit being capable of delivering a wide range of drugs, or a personalized medicine device, which is built to satisfy a particular patient’s unmet medical needs. Current investigations are also being made to address the pharmaceutical industry’s need for innovative drug delivery systems for the administration of novel compounds, including, but not limited to, peptides and oligonucleotides. This would be a significant step forward in drug delivery technology. Other potential drug delivery applications of this spray facility include needleless injection and nasal drug delivery. C. Consumer aerosols A third possible application is for a consumer aerosol generator, primarily due to its technically advanced performance, but most importantly due to environmental benefits. Standard spray/ aerosol cans, as well as most medical inhalers, generally use volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as propane and butane to generate the high pressures required to atomize the delivered liquid as it exits the can through the nozzle. Many think that these cause damage to the environment though this is not proven. But whether this is the case or not, the move is away from using VOCs which also have a safety risk at the point of use, as they are highly flammable. The advantage of the spray system described in this paper is that it has the capability of delivering consumer spray aerosols simply using water, and there is no other by-product. D. Fire Extinguishers and Fire Suppressants When the device is set for producing the larger range of droplet sizes, this is well suited to a fire-fighting system particularly as it has the ability to fire such a mixture of water and steam into the seat of a fire. Large droplets, maybe 100 µm, are effective at cooling the fire to a level below its reaction temperature, whereas small droplets evaporate very quickly and move oxygen away from the source of the fire – fire suppression. The spray can be made to comprise a distribution spanning these sizes and so having a range of droplets produced by one system would allow fires to be extinguished and suppressed efficiently as the fire progresses. Another significant feature of this system when producing droplets in this range is that it has a very high throw ratio, even for small droplets, and thus targeting is possible. As mentioned previously, the system has achieved a throw distance of up to 4 m under these conditions, which is a throw ratio with respect to the characteristic chamber length of 200. With larger chamber volumes, it is envisaged that an even greater throw distance can be achieved, which would be particularly relevant to fire-fighting applications. One application could then be for an individual firefighter carrying a limited supply of water as a back-pack, to target the seat of the fire in this way. Recently in December 2017 some of the worst fires in living memory broke out in Southern California. Some of the most dangerous fires ever recorded were in the Santa Barbara area, with 1000 properties destroyed with subsequent mud slides in January 2018, as a direct result of the devastated area not being able to cope with subsequent rainfall. Consequently the need to contain the forest fires early on is essential, and the need to have targeted fire extinguishers is vital. The distinct advantage of the beetle inspired extinguishers is that one can literally shoot from a considerable distance and thus protect the fire-fighter. MIMICKING THE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE SYSTEM There are a number of other features not yet copied in the beetle. The sensory mechanism is not yet understood whereby the beetle knows where the attack is coming from without looking at the attacker. Another feature not yet copied is the moveable exhaust turret (the beetle can cause a spray to be directed forward over its head!). Another feature which is currently being considered by the authors is the remarkable chemistry of the beetle whereby it has the ability to make hydrogen peroxide (McIntosh and Prongidis 2010). Di Giulo, Muzzi, and Romani (2015) in a most useful recent paper have shown the results of intricate dissections with high resolution scanning electron microscope images of the cuticular components of the defensive system of the bombardier beetle, analyzing also the fine structure of the glandular tissues in the defensive system. Shown clearly in their paper are the reservoir and the combustion chamber and the pygidial defensive gland systems which are connected to this defence mechanism. They found that the number of folds of the reservoir varies widely among genera and species. Quoting Di Giulo, Muzzi and Romani (2015) “… the only two openings of the reservoir are: (1) a small entrance opening, represented by the basal part of the collecting duct which fills the reservoir with hydrogen peroxide and hydroquinones; and (2) a wider opening into the reaction chamber which allows the passage of the stored chemicals, when permitted by a complex cuticular valve. The insertion point of the collecting duct is positioned almost in the middle of the tubular reservoir and represents the boundary between two functional parts: the distal part and the basal part. The distal part is shorter and wider, strongly bent downward, and blind ending: this represents the storage compartment. The basal part is longer and narrower, ending at the valve, and represents the more active dynamic compartment…” These findings show that far from the inlet valve being simple, it is becoming evident that this itself has many parts, all of which work in harmony as another example of irreducible complexity. It has yet to be understood how the chemical system of the beetle produces hydrogen peroxide, but all the investigations, by a number of research groups, indicate that along with the mechanical systems already described, the chemical system is again an example of irreducible complexity. The formation of peroxides and quinones requires very specific chemical pathways to construct vital yet unstable intermediates. McIntosh and Lawrence ◀ Design of the bombardier beetle ▶ 2018 ICC 274