Bioinspired synthesis of multifunctional inorganic and bio‐organic hybrid materials

Abstract

Owing to their physical and chemical properties, inorganic functional materials have tremendous impacts on key technologies such as energy generation and storage, information, medicine, and automotive engineering. Nature, on the other hand, provides evolution-optimized processes, which lead to multifunctional inorganic-bio-organic materials with complex structures. Their formation occurs under physiological conditions, and is goverened by a combination of highly regulated biological processes and intrinsic chemical properties. Nevertheless, insights into the molecular mechanisms of biomineralization open up promising perspectives for bioinspired and biomimetic design and the development of inorganic-bioorganic multifunctional hybrids. Therefore, biomimetic approaches may disclose new synthetic routes under ambient conditions by integrating the concept of gene-regulated biomineralization principles. The skeletal structures of marine sponges provide an interesting example of biosilicification via enzymatically controlled and gene-regulated silica metabolism. Spicule formation is initiated intracellularly by a fine-tuned genetic mechanism, which involves silica deposition in vesicles (silicassomes) under the control of the enzyme silicatein, which has both catalytic and templating functions. In this review, we place an emphasis on the fabrication of biologically inspired materials with silicatein as a biocatalyst.

Poriferan Chitin as a Versatile Template for Extreme Biomimetics

“…A biomimetic and bio-inspired approach for the synthesis of materials is a scientific and technological challenge that has been vigorously investigated in recent years [140][141][142][143][144][145][146]. There is interest in their nanoscale size, unique morphology, and properties which allow applications in biomedicine [140,141,144], as biosensors [140], and for catalysis [145,146].…”

“…There is interest in their nanoscale size, unique morphology, and properties which allow applications in biomedicine [140,141,144], as biosensors [140], and for catalysis [145,146]. In particular, the 2D and 3D nanostructural biocomposite-based scaffolds are crucial for a broad variety of advanced applications [147,148].…”

“…In particular, the 2D and 3D nanostructural biocomposite-based scaffolds are crucial for a broad variety of advanced applications [147,148]. Biomimetic synthesis of materials is carried out with various biomolecules; especially enzymes [146], proteins [149,150] peptides [151,152] and polysaccharides [153][154][155][156][157]. These biomacromolecules play an important role in nucleation, thermodynamic and kinetic control of crystal growth, and also can be used as soft templates for inorganic structures [143].…”

Biomimetic Protamine-Templated Silicification

“…The interactive and dynamic formation of inorganic minerals, either by controlled condensation in specific compartments or by regulation of the concentration of the inorganic precursors with the assistance of enzymes, is governed by a synergy of highly regulated biological processes and intrinsic physical/chemical properties. 1 Biomineralization is an inherently structural attribute: the structure of the mineral phase, the structure of the organic phase and especially the structure of the inorganicorganic interphase. Biomineral formation is widespread in nature and occurs in bacteria, single-cell protists, plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates.…”

Ionic Liquid Doped β Lactoglobulin as Template for Nanoclusters of Nickel Oxide

“…Moreover, these speci¯c types of assemblies seem to play important role in biological mineralizing systems where the formation of inorganic structures occurs in aqueous media at neutral pH by a set of biomolecules, such as proteins and polysaccharides. 7 The control over mineralization achieved in biological systems has been an inspiration for the development of new synthetic routes to materials of technological interest. [8][9][10] Using ferritin and apo-ferritin as templates, synthesis of nanoparticles of iron sul¯de, manganese oxide and uranyl hydroxide has been carried out by Meldrum et al 11 Apoferritin-nanoparticle complex has been shown to be useful for cancer treatment.…”