Lifelike Transformative Materials for Biohybrid Implants: Inspired by Nature, Driven by Technology
Advanced Healthcare Materials, vol. 12, pp. e2300991
Abstract
Today's living world is enriched with a myriad of natural biological designs, shaped by billions of years of evolution. Unraveling the construction rules of living organisms offers the potential to create new materials and systems for biomedicine. From the close examination of living organisms, several concepts emerge: hierarchy, pattern repetition, adaptation, and irreducible complexity. All these aspects must be tackled to develop transformative materials with lifelike behavior. This perspective article highlights recent progress in the development of transformative biohybrid systems for applications in the fields of tissue regeneration and biomedicine. Advances in computational simulations and data-driven predictions are also discussed. These tools enable the virtual high-throughput screening of implant design and performance before committing to fabrication, thus reducing the development time and cost of biomimetic and biohybrid constructs. The ongoing progress of imaging methods also constitutes an essential part of this matter in order to validate the computation models and enable longitudinal monitoring. Finally, the current challenges of lifelike biohybrid materials, including reproducibility, ethical considerations, and translation, are discussed. Advances in the development of lifelike materials will open new biomedical horizons, where perhaps what is currently envisioned as science fiction will become a science-driven reality in the future.
Authors 9
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Biohybrid & Medical Textiles (BioTex) AME‐Institute of Applied Medical Engineering Helmholtz Institute RWTH Aachen University Forckenbeckstraße 55 52074 Aachen Germany
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Affiliation as printed
Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging Faculty of Medicine RWTH Aachen University Forckenbeckstraße 55 52074 Aachen Germany
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Ioana Slabu Aachen
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Applied Medical Engineering Helmholtz Institute Medical Faculty RWTH Aachen University Pauwelsstraße 20 52074 Aachen Germany
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Laura De Laporte Aachen Advanced Materials for Biomedicine (AMB) Institute of Applied Medical Engineering (AME) Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry
DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials · Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University
Affiliation as printed
Advanced Materials for Biomedicine (AMB) Institute of Applied Medical Engineering (AME) University Hospital RWTH Aachen Center for Biohybrid Medical Systems (CMBS) Forckenbeckstraße 55 52074 Aachen Germany
DWI – Leibniz‐Institute for Interactive Materials Forckenbeckstraße 50 52074 Aachen Germany
Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry (ITMC) RWTH Aachen University Worringerweg 2 52074 Aachen Germany
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Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University
Affiliation as printed
Clinic for Cardiac Surgery University Hospital RWTH Aachen Pauwelsstraße 30 52074 Aachen Germany
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Affiliation as printed
Applied Ethics Group RWTH Aachen University Theaterplatz 14 52062 Aachen Germany
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Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Clinical Pharmacology University Hospital RWTH Aachen Wendlingweg 2 52074 Aachen Germany
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Affiliation as printed
Institute of Applied Mechanics RWTH Aachen University Mies‐van‐der‐Rohe‐Str. 1 52074 Aachen Germany
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Biohybrid & Medical Textiles (BioTex) AME‐Institute of Applied Medical Engineering Helmholtz Institute RWTH Aachen University Forckenbeckstraße 55 52074 Aachen Germany
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