Protein and peptide biomimicry: Gold‐mining inspiration from Nature's ingenuity

B iomimicry, a word derived from the Greek words ‘‘bios’’, meaning ‘‘life’’, and ‘‘mimesis’’, meaning ‘‘to imitate’’, has been accurately described by the Biomimicry Institute as a design principle that uses Nature as model, mentor, and measure. Nature’s elegant processes, refined over the course of evolution, provide myriad examples of systems that operate with unparalleled simplicity, efficiency, and durability. It is the essence of elegance in engineering. Through careful observation and dedicated study, Nature’s secrets begin to unfold and the fundamental principles underlying natural phenomena can become clear. Recognizing the wisdom that Nature has to offer, biomimetic researchers derive inspiration from or attempt to mimic directly the form and/or function of natural designs. The field of biomimicry has enjoyed a long and rich history spanning many decades, and has influenced a variety of disciplines, ranging from architecture and economics, to materials science and bioengineering. A particularly notable example of bioinspired design is Velcro, the hook-and-eye fastener invented by George de Mestral and modeled after the microscopic hooks on seed-bearing burrs that enable them to cling to animal fur and become dispersed. What began as natural curiosity in the mind of a Swiss mountaineer has today become a multimillion dollar global industry. State-of-the-art technology is enabling biomimeticists to examine Nature with an eye capable of resolving structures well below the macro-and micro-scales; the concerted efforts of microbiologists, chemists, physicists, and engineers have made observation at the nano and even the molecular scale a reality. Technological advances are continually expanding the frontier of what is possible in this field, which remains in its infancy. In particular, interdisciplinary research in biomimetic polymer engineering is poised to make lasting contributions to both the fundamental science and engineering applications of the basic building blocks of life—proteins. Hence, we focus here on the mimicry of these natural molecules, in particular.