Organic Design of Biomorphic Superstructures

Abstract

Nature has endowed extraordinary beauty and functional significance in the form of biological morphology. Inspired by nature, biomorphic superstructures have been designed and synthesized from organic precursors in a laboratory. Although the complexity of synthetic superstructures is lower compared to natural forms, from an engineering point of view they possess competitive advantages such as low cost, ease of fabrication, and, occasionally, unexpected characteristics. Thus, there are still plenty of excitingly biomorphic superstructures waiting to be discovered.

CuS‐Carrageenan Composite Grown from the Gel/Liquid Interface

“…Traditional chemical gardens are grown from a salt seed placed in a counterion solution. However, some examples of non‐traditional gardens have been reported such as the 2D gardens, organic gardens, and garden of cement nanotubes [6–8] . More interesting morphologies as well as physical and chemical properties have been found when chemobrionics evolves a gel/liquid interface [9–12] .…”

Underwater Fabrication of Carbon Nanotube/Coacervate Composites

“…The complex coacervates are among the most interesting ones; phase-separated liquids created by complexation between two oppositely charged polyelectrolytes, i.e., a polycation and a polyanion. 9−11 Complex coacervates have been found in many biological systems such as cells, 12,13 glue released from sandcastle worms 14,15 or mussels, 16 and squid beaks, 17 and they offer great promise for applications within adhesives, medicine, processed foods, etc. 18−23 In the efforts to prepare composites based on coacervates, several inorganic− organic and organic−organic hybrids have been developed.…”

“…Fortunately, nature offers abundant ways of preparing polymers or polymer complexes under aqueous conditions. The complex coacervates are among the most interesting ones; phase-separated liquids created by complexation between two oppositely charged polyelectrolytes, i.e., a polycation and a polyanion. − Complex coacervates have been found in many biological systems such as cells, , glue released from sandcastle worms , or mussels, and squid beaks, and they offer great promise for applications within adhesives, medicine, processed foods, etc. − In the efforts to prepare composites based on coacervates, several inorganic–organic and organic–organic hybrids have been developed. Previous hybrid systems have been made by coacervating metal oxide ((Pb,Bi)­(Ti,Fe)­O 3 or CeO 2 ) micro- or nanoparticles with polyelectrolytes − through intermolecular interactions, or by directly forming coacervates, using negatively charged nanoparticles, e.g., quantum dots, as the polyanion. , The organic–organic composites have been constructed by loading a coacervate matrix with active organic materials such as curcumin, baicalin, plasmid DNA, bortezomib anticancer drug, or liposomes. − These hybrid materials show diverse physical and chemical characteristics including piezoelectric, fluorescent, , film-formation, antibiofouling, and redox properties.…”