Work

The convergent design evolution of multiscale biomineralized structures in extinct and extant organisms

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Evolution has generated a sophisticated convergence of material components, ultrastructural designs, and fabrication processes in response to similar selective pressures across a diverse array of extinct and extant species. This review explores three key convergent design strategies: struts for lightweight structures with load-bearing efficiency, sutures for increased flexibility and stress management, and helicoids for impact resistance and fracture toughness. Through this examination, the review sheds light on how evolution can inspire innovative engineering approaches and technologies through the adoption of aspects of natural design. We foresee natural evolutive processes of construction as the informative harbingers of new, advanced, ecologically aware, and energy-efficient modes of human fabrication. The evolutionary process has created natural systems with structures that impart high mechanical performance, providing guidance for biomimetics. Here, the role played by three convergent design strategies – struts, sutures and helicoids – is discussed, spanning their occurrence in nature through to applications.

Source: Communications Materials

DOI: 10.1038/s43246-024-00669-z

Authors: Valentina Perricone, Ezra Sarmiento, Andrew Nguyen, Nigel C. Hughes, David Kisailus

Institutions: University of California, Irvine, University of California, Riverside

Language: English

Topic: Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition

Subfield: Biomaterials

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,490

Funders: National Science Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research