Synthetic growth by self-lubricated photopolymerization and extrusion inspired by plants and fungi.

ABSTRACT: Many natural organisms, such as fungal hyphae and plant roots, grow at their tips, enabling the generation of complex bodies composed of natural materials as well as dexterous movement and exploration. Tip growth presents an exemplary process by which materials synthesis and actuation are coupled, providing a blueprint for how growth could be realized in a synthetic system. Herein, we identify three underlying principles essential to tip-based growth of biological organisms: a fluid pressure driving force, localized polymerization for generating structure, and fluid-mediated transport of constituent materials. In this work, these evolved features inspire a synthetic materials growth process called extrusion by self-lubricated interface photopolymerization (E-SLIP), which can continuously f

SUBMITTER: Hausladen MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9388119 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature