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Biologically Inspired Dynamic Material Systems
Author(s) -
Studart André R.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201410139
Subject(s) - microscale chemistry , synthetic biology , computer science , biomimetics , interconnectivity , nanotechnology , biological system , biochemical engineering , engineering , artificial intelligence , materials science , biology , bioinformatics , mathematics education , mathematics
Numerous examples of material systems that dynamically interact with and adapt to the surrounding environment are found in nature, from hair‐based mechanoreceptors in animals to self‐shaping seed dispersal units in plants to remodeling bone in vertebrates. Inspired by such fascinating biological structures, a wide range of synthetic material systems have been created to replicate the design concepts of dynamic natural architectures. Examples of biological structures and their man‐made counterparts are herein revisited to illustrate how dynamic and adaptive responses emerge from the intimate microscale combination of building blocks with intrinsic nanoscale properties. By using top‐down photolithographic methods and bottom‐up assembly approaches, biologically inspired dynamic material systems have been created 1) to sense liquid flow with hair‐inspired microelectromechanical systems, 2) to autonomously change shape by utilizing plantlike heterogeneous architectures, 3) to homeostatically influence the surrounding environment through self‐regulating adaptive surfaces, and 4) to spatially concentrate chemical species by using synthetic microcompartments. The ever‐increasing complexity and remarkable functionalities of such synthetic systems offer an encouraging perspective to the rich set of dynamic and adaptive properties that can potentially be implemented in future man‐made material systems.