VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, VTT, Espoo, FI-02044, Finland.
Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16100, Espoo, FI-16100, Finland.
Adv Mater. 2021 Oct;33(42):e2102658. doi: 10.1002/adma.202102658. Epub 2021 Sep 1.
Nature provides unique insights into design strategies evolved by living organisms to construct robust materials with a combination of mechanical properties that are challenging to replicate synthetically. Hereby, inspired by the impact-resistant dactyl club of the stomatopod, a mineralized biocomposite is rationally designed and produced in the complex shapes of dental implant crowns exhibiting high strength, stiffness, and fracture toughness. This material consists of an expanded helicoidal organization of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) mixed with genetically engineered proteins that regulate both binding to CNCs and in situ growth of reinforcing apatite crystals. Critically, the structural properties emerge from controlled self-assembly across multiple length scales regulated by rational engineering and phase separation of the protein components. This work replicates multiscale biomanufacturing of a model biological material and also offers an innovative platform to synthesize multifunctional biocomposites whose properties can be finely regulated by colloidal self-assembly and engineering of its constitutive protein building blocks.
自然界为设计策略提供了独特的见解，这些策略是由生物体进化而来的，用于构建具有机械性能的坚固材料，这些性能结合起来具有挑战性，难以通过合成方式复制。在此基础上，受节肢动物瓣鳃类动物的抗冲击指节的启发，我们合理设计并生产出了具有复杂形状的牙种植体冠，其具有高强度、高刚度和高断裂韧性。这种材料由纤维素纳米晶体（CNC）的扩展螺旋组织和经过基因工程改造的蛋白质混合而成，这些蛋白质可以调节与 CNC 的结合以及增强的磷灰石晶体的原位生长。关键的是，结构性能源自通过合理的工程和蛋白质成分的相分离来控制多个长度尺度的自组装。这项工作复制了模型生物材料的多尺度生物制造，也为合成多功能生物复合材料提供了一个创新平台，其性能可以通过胶体自组装和组成蛋白质构建块的工程来精细调节。
