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Nature Biotechnology 20, 30–31 (1 January 2002) | doi:10.1038/nbt0102-30

Molecular-scale biomimicry

William L. Murphy & David J. Mooney

Self-assembling organic molecules with a mineral coat may enable new approaches to bone tissue engineering. The design of self-assembling biomaterials that mimic complex biological structures represents a considerable challenge. This is perhaps not surprising when one considers that such structures have undergone millions of years of evolutionary optimization.