Hylozoic by Design: Converging Material and Biological Complexities for Cell‐Driven Living Materials with 4D Behaviors

Abstract

The emergence of novel techniques in biology and material science, coupled with greater understandings of cell-material interactions, have given rise to the creation of living materials and bioarchitectures imbued with engineered living behaviors. These multidimensional materials and constructs capable of performing programmable and time-or stimuli-dependent activities, namely 4D behaviors, may do so as a result of material features alone, or as a product of incorporated biological or cellular agents. This review discusses fabrication strategies employed in the development of 4D living materials and examples of their 4D activities driven by cellular events or processes. The fabrication strategies investigated throughout are focused on those that facilitate the responsive, functional transformation of the 3D structure with the time that extends beyond changes driven solely by material features, and enable an increase in the cell-dependent functional capacity of the construct. Living materials comprised of cells and their own products, as well as both cells and added non-living materials are investigated. Further, the authors analyze how material complexities and biological complexities have thus far been interfaced to allow for intricate living behaviors, and discuss the design considerations and challenges encountered in developing living materials. Finally, the future directions of living materials are outlined.

Engineered Living Materials For Sustainability

“…Thus, synthetic biology techniques integrating life’s ability to sense, process, and actuate in response to external signals have profound implications for designing useful biological materials with tailored functionalities . Therefore, the development of “engineered living materials (ELMs)”, also known as “living functional materials”, has attracted significant attention from researchers across multiple disciplines and represents a new opportunity to repurpose engineered biological systems for innovative capabilities. − …”

Covalent Stem Cell-Combining Injectable Materials with Enhanced Stemness and Controlled Differentiation In Vivo

“…Biohybrid materials are defined as engineered functional materials combining living components with nonliving synthetic materials. Thus, biohybrid materials can exhibit functions originating from the living components, which respond to their environment to produce complex biological molecules and span multiple-length scales. , Furthermore, by combining these functions with the benefits of nonliving materials, biohybrid materials can achieve sophisticated functions unattainable for living components or nonliving synthetic materials alone. The nascent idea of biohybrid materials is pushing the boundaries and frontiers of these research fields and directing evolution into new realms. , Recently, several types of biohybrid materials that utilize various eukaryotic cells as the living component have been generated, and basic studies investigating the unique functionalities associated with the incorporated cells have been reported. − …”

“…Thus, biohybrid materials can exhibit functions originating from the living components, which respond to their environment to produce complex biological molecules and span multiple-length scales. 1,2 Furthermore, by combining these functions with the benefits of nonliving materials, biohybrid materials can achieve sophisticated functions unattainable for living components or nonliving synthetic materials alone. The nascent idea of biohybrid materials is pushing the boundaries and frontiers of these research fields and directing evolution into new realms.…”

“…The nascent idea of biohybrid materials is pushing the boundaries and frontiers of these research fields and directing evolution into new realms. 1,2 Recently, several types of biohybrid materials that utilize various eukaryotic cells as the living component have been generated, and basic studies investigating the unique functionalities associated with the incorporated cells have been reported. 1−3 Applications of biohybrid materials have also been studied, with a particular focus on their clinical application as an ultimate goal.…”

“…(1) the mechanical properties of biohybrid materials should be adapted to the mechanical properties of the surrounding environments in which they are transplanted, (2) biohybrid materials should actively exchange information with the surrounding environments in which they are transplanted, (3) biohybrid materials transplanted into the body must be degraded and ultimately replaced by reconstructed living tissue, and (4) cell components of biohybrid materials should be approved for clinical use. Considering requirement (4) above, one of the most promising cell sources currently utilized for in vivo tissue engineering is autologous adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), the most commonly used type of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) clinically.…”