Bioinspired Materials Science

为了实现生物系统的最佳能源、时间和空间效率，大自然开发了依赖于自组装、结构层次、自我塑造和单个结构组件的协同特性的卓越策略。这些策略激励材料和聚合物科学家进行生物启发研究，并创造具有生物基序的成分和结构的人造材料。**我们的研究计划旨在发展对自然发展的材料设计的潜在机制的基本理解。这些策略将用于产生具有模仿或超越生物系统特性的新型生物灵感材料。申请者在聚合物、胶体和材料科学、纳米科学和微流体学方面的实力对拟议的研究至关重要。**提出的研究计划的第一个主题包括智能、反应性高分子材料的开发。受纤维植物组织特性的启发，我们将设计自成型的复合聚合物材料，包括凝胶和弹性体，探索由预先设计的内应力控制的新形状转变，并开发自成型生物系统的合成模型。**一系列项目旨在设计和开发生物纳米纤维胞外微环境的合成聚合物类似物。我们的方法将利用嵌段共聚物或纤维素纳米原纤维的圆柱形胶束在具有可控生物物理特性和细胞粘附特性的水凝胶中的可逆自组装。水凝胶将用于细胞包封和培养。**第三个研究主题是手性等离子体材料，该材料将通过复制植物组织中天然纳米原纤维形成的手性向列结构而产生，并探索其新的光学性质。**拟议的研究计划的结果将导致加深对自然在进化过程中发展的设计原则的理解，将为材料科学带来新的策略，并将显著加强我们产生具有先进性能的功能材料的能力。

To achieve the best energy-, time- and space-efficient performance of biological systems, nature has developed remarkable strategies that rely on self-assembly, structural hierarchy, self-shaping, and synergetic properties of individual structural components. These strategies motivate materials and polymer scientists to conduct bio-inspired research and create man-made materials with the composition and structure that follow a biological motif.**Our research program aims at the development of fundamental understanding of the underlying mechanisms in the material design developed by nature. These strategies will be used to generate new, bioinspired materials with properties that either mimic, or exceed the properties of biological systems. The strength of the applicant group in polymer, colloid and materials science, nanoscience and microfluidics is vital for the proposed research.**The first theme of the proposed research program includes the development of intelligent, responsive polymer materials. Being inspired by the properties of fibrous plant tissues, we will design self-shaping composite polymer materials, including gels and elastomers, explore new shape transitions governed by the pre-designed internal stresses, and develop synthetic models for self-shaping biological systems. **A cluster of projects aims at the design and development of synthetic polymer analogues of biological nanofibrillar extracellular microenvironments. Our approach will utilize reversible self-assembly of cylindrical micelles of block copolymers or cellulose nanofibrils in hydrogels with controllable biophysical properties and cell-adhesive properties. The hydrogels will be used for cell encapsulation and culture.**The third research theme focuses on chiral plasmonic materials, which will be generated by replicating chiral nematic structures formed by natural nanofibrils in plant tissues, and the exploration of their new optical properties. **The results of the proposed research program will lead to an enhanced understanding of the design principles developed by nature in the course of evolution, will bring new strategies in materials science, and will significantly strengthen our ability to generate functional materials with advanced properties.