Kim Won-Sik, Im Jun-Hyung, Kim Hyein, Choi Jin-Kang, Choi Yena, Kim Young-Ki
Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea.
Adv Mater. 2023 Jan;35(4):e2204275. doi: 10.1002/adma.202204275. Epub 2022 Nov 21.
Biomaterials, which are substances interacting with biological systems, have been extensively explored to understand living organisms and obtain scientific inspiration (such as biomimetics). However, many aspects of biomaterials have yet to be fully understood. Because liquid crystalline phases are ubiquitously found in biomaterials (e.g., cholesterol, amphiphile, DNA, cellulose, bacteria), therefore, a wide range of research has made attempts to approach unresolved issues with the concept of liquid crystals (LCs). This review presents these studies that address the interactive correlation between biomaterials and LCs. Specifically, intrinsic LC behavior of various biomaterials such as DNA, cellulose nanocrystals, and bacteriaare first introduced. Second, the dynamics of bacteria in LC media are addressed, with focus on how bacteria interact with LCs, and how dynamics of bacteria can be controlled by exploiting the characteristics of LCs. Lastly, how the strong correlation between LCs and biomaterials has been leveraged to design a new class of biosensors with additional functionalities (e.g., self-regulated drug release) that are not available in previous systems is reviewed. Examples addressed in this review convey the message that the intersection between biomaterials and LCs offers deep insights into fundamental understanding of biomaterials, and provides resources for development of transformative technologies.
生物材料是与生物系统相互作用的物质，人们已对其进行了广泛探索，以了解生物体并获得科学灵感（如仿生学）。然而，生物材料的许多方面仍有待充分了解。由于液晶相在生物材料中普遍存在（如胆固醇、两亲分子、DNA、纤维素、细菌），因此，大量研究试图用液晶（LC）的概念来解决未解决的问题。本综述介绍了这些探讨生物材料与液晶之间相互关系的研究。具体而言，首先介绍了各种生物材料（如DNA、纤维素纳米晶体和细菌）的固有液晶行为。其次，讨论了细菌在液晶介质中的动力学，重点是细菌如何与液晶相互作用，以及如何利用液晶的特性来控制细菌的动力学。最后，综述了如何利用液晶与生物材料之间的强相关性来设计一类具有额外功能（如自调节药物释放）的新型生物传感器，而这些功能在以前的系统中是不存在的。本综述中涉及的例子传达了这样一个信息，即生物材料与液晶的交叉领域为深入理解生物材料提供了深刻见解，并为变革性技术的发展提供了资源。
