Department of Bionanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629, HZ Delft, The Netherlands.
Department of Aerospace Science and Technology, Politecnico di Milano, Via Giuseppe La Masa, 34, 20156, Milan, Italy.
Small. 2019 May;15(22):e1805312. doi: 10.1002/smll.201805312. Epub 2019 Apr 5.
The impressive mechanical properties of natural composites, such as nacre, arise from their multiscale hierarchical structures, which span from nano- to macroscale and lead to effective energy dissipation. While some synthetic bioinspired materials have achieved the toughness of natural nacre, current production methods are complex and typically involve toxic chemicals, extreme temperatures, and/or high pressures. Here, the exclusive use of bacteria to produce nacre-inspired layered calcium carbonate-polyglutamate composite materials that reach and exceed the toughness of natural nacre, while additionally exhibiting high extensibility and maintaining high stiffness, is introduced. The extensive diversity of bacterial metabolic abilities and the possibility of genetic engineering allows for the creation of a library of bacterially produced, cost-effective, and eco-friendly composite materials.
天然复合材料（如珍珠母）具有令人印象深刻的力学性能，这源于其多尺度的层次结构，其范围跨越纳米到宏观尺度，从而实现了有效的能量耗散。虽然一些合成的仿生材料已经达到了天然珍珠母的韧性，但目前的生产方法较为复杂，通常涉及有毒化学品、极端温度和/或高压。在这里，我们仅使用细菌来生产受珍珠母启发的层状碳酸钙-多聚谷氨酸复合材料，这些材料达到并超过了天然珍珠母的韧性，同时还表现出了高延展性和保持了高刚性。细菌代谢能力的广泛多样性以及基因工程的可能性，使得可以创造出一系列具有成本效益且环保的细菌生产的复合材料。
