Challenges and opportunities for innovation in bioinformed sustainable materials

D Stuart-Fox; L Ng; L Barner; ATD Bennett; SJ Blamires; MA Elgar; AR Evans; AM Franklin; K Hölttä-Otto; JA Hutchison; F Jativa; AL Jessop; J Kelley; J McGaw; J Mei; M Mirkhalaf; M Musameh; C Neto; AJ O’Connor; T Schork; GE Schröder-Turk; NH Voelcker; A Wang; GS Watson; JA Watson; L Wesemann; WWH Wong

Journal article

Challenges and opportunities for innovation in bioinformed sustainable materials

D Stuart-Fox, L Ng, L Barner, ATD Bennett, SJ Blamires, MA Elgar, AR Evans, AM Franklin, K Hölttä-Otto, JA Hutchison, F Jativa, AL Jessop, J Kelley, J McGaw, J Mei, M Mirkhalaf, M Musameh, C Neto, AJ O’Connor, T Schork Show all

Communications Materials | SPRINGERNATURE | Published : 2023

DOI: 10.1038/s43246-023-00405-z

Abstract

Nature provides a rich source of information for the design of novel materials; yet there remain significant challenges in the design and manufacture of materials that replicate the form, function, and sustainability of biological solutions. Here, we identify key challenges and promising approaches to the development of materials informed by biology. These challenges fall into two main areas; the first relates to harnessing biological information for materials innovation, including key differences between biological and synthetic materials, and the relationship between structure and function. We propose an approach to materials innovation that capitalizes on biodiversity, together with high-..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Devi Stuart-Fox Author

Amanda Franklin Author

Katja Holtta-Otto Author

James Hutchison Author

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Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

We thank all the participants of the second workshop on Bioinspired Advanced Materials. The workshops were funded by the University of Melbourne Hallmark Research Initiative in Bioinspiration, and the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS). DSF was funded by an ARC Future Fellowship (FT180100216) and JLK was funded by an ARC Future Fellowship (FT180100491). ALJ was funded as a postdoctoral fellow through ARC project DP200102593. JAH acknowledges an ARC Future Fellowship (FT180100295), JAH and WW acknowledge the Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science (CE170100026).