Bioprocess-inspired fabrication of materials with new structures and functions

Strategies that attempt to mimic the well-defined structures or unique functions of natural biological materials have succeeded in designing and synthesizing bio-inspired materials in the past twenty years. Furthermore, natural structure-forming processes in biological systems can efficiently and accurately fabricate biomaterials under environmentally benign conditions, in contrast to our anthropogenic technologies wherein harsh conditions are commonly prerequisites. Hence, natural structure-forming processes are well worth studying in pursuit of new techniques for fabricating advanced materials with novel structures and functions, a new research direction, called bioprocess-inspired fabrication has been proposed in recent years. In this review, we systematically introduce and evaluate the advance of bioprocess-inspired fabrication of materials for the first time. We describe advances in the exploration and development of bioprocess-inspired fabrication technology and related exquisite materials. We summarize in detail the advances in biomineralization, photosynthesis and other bioprocess-inspired fabrication methods, and have finally discussed some new ideas and directions that need to be emphasized in the future. Bioprocess-inspired fabrication of materials will convey far-reaching implications for materials science, life science, biology, chemistry and other related interdisciplinary fields.