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Bioinspired materials are synthetic materials whose structure, properties or function mimic those of natural materials or living matter. Examples of bioinspired materials are light-harvesting photonic materials that mimic photosynthesis, structural composites that imitate the structure of nacre, and metal actuators inspired by the movements of jellyfish.
Engineering synthetic cells faces the challenge of transferring biomolecules, such as nucleic acids and proteins, through simple lipid bilayers. Now, a study reveals how energy-dissipating oil droplets can create reconfigurable passageways shuttling biomolecules across liposomal compartments.
The so far reported enzyme mimics focus on the redox-active metal as a redox site, while the redox-inert metal as Lewis acid has so far not been reported. Here, the authors report efficient MxV2O5·nH2O peroxidase mimics with vanadium as redox site and alkaline-earth metal ion (M2+) as Lewis acid, where the peroxidase-mimicking activity shows a periodic change with the Lewis acidity of the metal.
Nanozymes are nanomaterials that exert biocatalytic functions within biological systems. This Review discusses the design criteria and mechanisms of nanozymes for in vivo applications to treat different pathological disorders.
Separation of rare-earth ions is challenging due to their chemical and physical similarities. Here, the authors fabricate a biomimetic nanofluidic channel featuring an asymmetrical structure functionalized with glycyl-L-proline for selective and unidirectional extraction of dysprosium ions.
Effective delivery of drugs to bone marrow has potential for leukemia treatment. Here the authors report the delivery of chemotherapy drug Ara-C with HSPC cell membrane derived-biomimetic vesicles, which target leukemia stem cells thereby effectively inhibit its progression.
Natural antimicrobial peptides and enzymes are good candidates for application but suffer from low stability. Here, the authors report on biomimetic self-assembling peptides which mimic both antimicrobial peptide and enzyme functionality, demonstrating application against fungal infection.
Engineering synthetic cells faces the challenge of transferring biomolecules, such as nucleic acids and proteins, through simple lipid bilayers. Now, a study reveals how energy-dissipating oil droplets can create reconfigurable passageways shuttling biomolecules across liposomal compartments.
The cryopreservation of biological samples is hindered by ice formation and the need to maintain samples under cryogenic conditions during storage and transportation. Silicification offers a simple method for preserving life within refractory, amorphous silicon dioxide, which is analogous to vitreous ice but does not melt and thereby avoids cold-chain issues.
By drawing inspiration from ion transport in biology, researchers have developed highly selective channels for the separation and enrichment of Li+ ions from complex aqueous solutions.
The balance of ‘outside–in’ and ‘inside–out’ signaling is critical in tissue development and regeneration. This Comment highlights emerging strategies to engineer and manipulate this delicate equilibrium and fine-tune cellular responses using complementary tools in biomaterials design and synthetic biology.
Drawing inspiration from helical structures in nature, researchers have developed a cobalt-based complex able to twist and untwist, converting between nanohelix and nanowire structures.