TY - JOUR
T1 - Bacterially Produced, Nacre-Inspired Composite Materials
AU - Spiesz, Ewa M.
AU - Schmieden, Dominik T.
AU - Grande, Antonio M.
AU - Liang, Kuang
AU - Schwiedrzik, Jakob
AU - Natalio, Filipe
AU - Michler, Johann
AU - Garcia, Santiago J.
AU - Aubin-Tam, Marie Eve
AU - Meyer, Anne S.
PY - 2019/5/29
Y1 - 2019/5/29
N2 - The impressive mechanical properties of natural composites, such as nacre, arise from their multiscale hierarchical structures, which span from nano- to macroscale and lead to effective energy dissipation. While some synthetic bioinspired materials have achieved the toughness of natural nacre, current production methods are complex and typically involve toxic chemicals, extreme temperatures, and/or high pressures. Here, the exclusive use of bacteria to produce nacre-inspired layered calcium carbonate-polyglutamate composite materials that reach and exceed the toughness of natural nacre, while additionally exhibiting high extensibility and maintaining high stiffness, is introduced. The extensive diversity of bacterial metabolic abilities and the possibility of genetic engineering allows for the creation of a library of bacterially produced, cost-effective, and eco-friendly composite materials.
AB - The impressive mechanical properties of natural composites, such as nacre, arise from their multiscale hierarchical structures, which span from nano- to macroscale and lead to effective energy dissipation. While some synthetic bioinspired materials have achieved the toughness of natural nacre, current production methods are complex and typically involve toxic chemicals, extreme temperatures, and/or high pressures. Here, the exclusive use of bacteria to produce nacre-inspired layered calcium carbonate-polyglutamate composite materials that reach and exceed the toughness of natural nacre, while additionally exhibiting high extensibility and maintaining high stiffness, is introduced. The extensive diversity of bacterial metabolic abilities and the possibility of genetic engineering allows for the creation of a library of bacterially produced, cost-effective, and eco-friendly composite materials.
KW - bacterially induced materials
KW - biological materials
KW - biomaterials
KW - biomimetic materials
KW - hierarchical materials
KW - nanocomposites
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85063906849&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/smll.201805312
DO - 10.1002/smll.201805312
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85063906849
SN - 1613-6810
VL - 15
JO - Small
JF - Small
IS - 22
M1 - 1805312
ER -