ABSTRACT
In biomimetics, one studies how nature, building atom by atom, i.e., through bottom-up manufacturing, through eons of evolution of life, developed materials, structures, processes, and intelligence to inspire and improve the engineering and design of artifi cial materials, human-made structures and processes (e.g., software). Human manufacturing technology works in the opposite direction, i.e., it builds top-down; in most current manufacturing we tend to start with larger build ing blocks and use stiff materials (e.g., Si or stain less steel), whereas nature prefers small build ing blocks and mostly soft, low-Young’s modulus materials (e.g., muscle or skin). Throughout history, biomimetics has been attempted but often with less than satisfactory results. Bird flight, for example, did not lead to aircraft, but mathematical expressions from aerodynamics did. As a consequence, from the middle of the eighteenth century to about thirty years ago, engineers were tempted to engineer around nature’s obstacles rather than be inspired by nature itself. Today though, in fields ranging from artificial intelligence to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), and smart materials, the perceived advantages of bottom-up designs and manufacturing are convincing many scientists to research natural, biomimetic approaches and manufacturing methods. In this chapter, we first introduce the most important engineering feats of nature and then explain how these are applied in today’s biotechnology. It can be argued that molecular scientists and ge - netic engineers were practicing nanotechnology long before the name became popular with electrical and mechanical engineers. Actually molecular biology or “wet nanotechnology” has been called by some “nanotechnology that works.” To be fair, molecular biology discoveries were rarely seen in the light of improved manufacturing techniques, as the discoverers were usually aiming for improved diagnostics and therapeutics. Within this context we introduce the use of natural polymers and their mutants not only for optimized sensing and realizing new drugs but also for the fabrication of actuators and new manufacturing techniques in general.
