Bioinspired composites: nature’s guidance for advanced materials future

Abstract

Biomimetics enables the use of nature as a source of inspiration for the elaboration of high-performance materials. In this scenario, the development of bioinspired composites emerges as a promising proposal, capable of generating technological innovation in numerous areas of engineering, considering the exceptional mechanical performance of materials of this kind. That said, this review article characterises the design principles and fundamental parameters for bioinspired composites design. In addition, the main challenges to be overcome in the development of bioinspired materials are discussed, with the presentation of some experimental studies that lead to the practical application of such principles. Future applications for this class of materials are also highlighted.

Bottom‐Up Film‐to‐Bulk Assembly Toward Bioinspired Bulk Structural Nanocomposites

“…As one promising direction of interdisciplinary fields, the study of bioinspired structural materials is booming. [1,2,12,13,[158][159][160][161][162][163] Various bioinspired materials, partially including bioinspired nacre-like materials, [69,76,77,83] bioinspired inverse nacre-like materials, [74,164,165] bioinspired multiple-arch elastic structural materials, [166,167] bioinspired polymeric honeycomb woods, [168,169] cuttlebone-inspired cellular materials, [170][171][172][173] as well as bioinspired Bouligand structural materials [151][152][153]174] have been fabricated. Many works showed that bioinspired materials with 3D bulk forms would occupy an increasingly prominent position in widespread structural applications.…”

Analysis of micropolar elastic multi-laminated composite and its application to bioceramic materials for bone reconstruction

“…Examples of bio-inspired artificial laminates are nacre-like composites and hierarchical and biomimetic sandwich structures [33,34]. These materials are composed of multiple layers of different materials, arranged in a specific pattern to achieve high strength, toughness and adaptability [35]. One of the challenges in designing bio-inspired artificial materials for bone reconstruction involves creating a mathematical model that can characterize the complex structure of the biological system.…”

Bionic Mineralized 3D‐Printed Scaffolds with Enhanced In Situ Mineralization for Cranial Bone Regeneration

“…[ 1 ] Currently, the clinically applied reconstruction substitutes are mainly bioinert materials such as titanium, and polyether ether ketone, which suffer from poor tissue integration and osteoconductivity. [ 2 ] Inspired by the precise component and unique structure of natural bone, bionic mineralized organic‐inorganic hybrid composites could combine the excellent properties of organic biomolecules and induced inorganic minerals [ 3 ] to provide congruent mechanical strength [ 4 ] and better osteogenesis. [ 1,5 ]…”