Biomimetic and Bio-Enabled Materials Science and Engineering
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Introduction Guest Editors: Adrian B. Mann Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854
Rajesh R. Naik Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio 45433-7750
Hugh C. DeLong Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Arlington, Virginia 22203
Kenneth H. Sandhage Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0245
Since humans first walked the Earth they have used structural materials derived from Nature to make tools, weapons, textiles, and dwellings. Even in ancient times there was recognition that Nature offered more than just an abundant source of materials; it offered ideas. Looking at how Nature solved a problem may have helped early inventors solve countless problems related, for instance, to building a boat, making a shield, or constructing a house. One of history’s great inventors, Leonardo da Vinci, is famous for his studies of living forms and for his inventions, which were often based on ideas derived from Nature.1 The lessons learned by da Vinci and others were, of course, not always successful, as seen in the countless efforts throughout the ages by humans to fly like a bird. Nonetheless, these are the origins of human’s seeking to solve problems by mimicking Nature. In modern terms we tend to call this field “biomimetics,” which essentially means we are seeking to replicate some or all of the features of a biological system. This is of huge importance in medicine where biomimetic solutions are used to treat a range of diseases and conditions. It is known, for instance, that various materials (often derived from Nature) have been used to mimic the form and function of teeth for millennia.2 In medicine our understanding of the human body’s anatomy and physiology has greatly improved over the past 100 years. This has led to dramatic improvements in our ability to replicate the form and function of human tissues using artificial materials. In the latter half of the 20th century, this ability to replicate human tissue has been the most striking advance in biomimetics. The approximate development of biomimetics over the course of human history is shown schematically in Fig. 1.
DOI: 10.1557/JMR.2008.0418 J. Mater. Res., Vol. 23, No. 12, Dec 2008
In many ways developments in biomimetics have always been limited by our ability to characterize biological systems and our ability to replicate them. Thousands of years ago all that could be seen was the macroscale structure of biological systems; hence, it was these macroscale structures that humans sought to replicate. Improved characterization and understanding of the structure, chemistry, and function of biological systems has in turn enabled the synthesis of artificial materials that mimic both their structural form and their function. This has arguably reached its zenith now that we our able to characterize biosystems at the level of atoms and molecules while simultaneously, through the advent of nanotechnology, we are able to design materials on the same atomic and molecular scale. One result of this is that bi
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