Growing Living Composites with Ordered Microstructures and Exceptional Mechanical Properties
Abstract
Living creatures are continuous sources of inspiration for designing synthetic materials. However, living creatures are typically different from synthetic materials because the former consist of living cells to support their growth and regeneration. Although natural systems can grow materials with sophisticated microstructures, how to harness living cells to grow materials with predesigned microstructures in engineering systems remains largely elusive. Here, an attempt to exploit living bacteria and 3D‐printed materials to grow bionic mineralized composites with ordered microstructures is reported. The bionic composites exhibit outstanding specific strength and fracture toughness, which are comparable to natural composites, and exceptional energy absorption capability superior to both natural and artificial counterparts. This report opens the door for 3D‐architectured hybrid synthetic–living materials with living ordered microstructures and exceptional properties.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 19, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1002/adma.202006946
Entities
People
- An Xin
- Kunhao Yu
- Kyung Hoon Lee
- Lizhi Sun
- Minliang Yan
- Qiming Wang
- Shengwei Feng
- Yipin Su
- Zhangzhengrong Feng
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Division of Civil, Mechanical & Manufacturing Innovation
- National Science Foundation
- University of California
- University of Southern California