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Inspiration and application in the evolution of biomaterials

Nature volume 462, pages 426–432 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Biomaterials, traditionally defined as materials used in medical devices, have been used since antiquity, but recently their degree of sophistication has increased significantly. Biomaterials made today are routinely information rich and incorporate biologically active components derived from nature. In the future, biomaterials will assume an even greater role in medicine and will find use in a wide variety of non-medical applications through biologically inspired design and incorporation of dynamic behaviour.

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Figure 1: History and growth of biomaterials as a field and industry.
Figure 2: Information-rich biomimetic materials.
Figure 3: Regulating biology at a distance: designing materials to target or mimic the niches of specific cell populations.
Figure 4: Using components of biological organisms and materials in novel applications.
Figure 5: The future: rethinking how inspiration is drawn from biology, and applying biological design principles to new areas.
Figure 6: The future: drawing inspiration from nature to rethink how materials and pharmaceuticals are manufactured.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. Ingber for discussions. We acknowledge funding from the US National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research). N.H. is supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 29 Oxford Street, 319 Pierce Hall, Cambridge, 02138, Massachusetts, USA

    Nathaniel Huebsch & David J. Mooney

  2. Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, 02139, Massachusetts, USA

    Nathaniel Huebsch

  3. Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Cambridge, 02138, Massachusetts, USA

    David J. Mooney

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Reprints and permissions information is available at http://www.nature.com/reprints. The authors declare no competing financial interests. Correspondence should be addressed to D.J.M. (mooneyd@seas.harvard.edu).

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Huebsch, N., Mooney, D. Inspiration and application in the evolution of biomaterials. Nature 462, 426–432 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08601

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