Liquid Metal Biomimicry: Bridging Fluidity and Biological Adaptability
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Liquid metals, particularly gallium-based alloys, uniquely combine fluidic compliance with metallic conductivity, which makes them ideal candidates for biomimetic design. Rather than treating biomimicry as the mere imitation of biological forms, we argue that liquid metal biomimicry should be understood as the realization of biological strategies through the intrinsic physics of fluidity and interfacial dynamics. This review organizes existing research within a hierarchical framework that couples physical liquidity, interface biology analogy, and functional emergence to explain how adaptive behaviors naturally arise from dynamic liquid metal systems. We examine representative systems across morphological and functional dimensions and contend that their true significance lies not in replicating nature but in addressing problems that conventional rigid materials cannot solve. Looking forward, we identify several transformative directions that collectively chart a roadmap toward truly intelligent and autonomous bioinspired systems. By bridging the physics of fluidity with the principles of biological adaptability, liquid metal biomimicry holds transformative potential for soft robotics, wearable electronics, neuromorphic computing, and biomedical engineering.
Source: Biomimetics
Author: Sen Chen
Institution: Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,654
Awards: G2592466885, G8639507756
OpenAlex ID: W7168501120