Bioinspired and Green Synthesis of Nanostructures

14Future Challenges for Designing Industry-Relevant Bioinspired Materials

Warren Rosario¹ and Nidhi Chauhan²*

¹School of Engineering (SoE), University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Bidholi, Dehradun, India

²School of Health Sciences & Technology (SoHST), University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Bidholi, Dehradun, India

Abstract

Ever since its genesis, life has successfully been able to spread throughout the planet and has survived even in the harshest of conditions. It has done so through the process of “Evolution by natural selection.” This ability of nature to perfect designs and materials over time has caught the eye of scientists all over the world and led to the development of materials and systems inspired from nature. This concept is called bioinspiration whose core tenet is the belief that, the solution to practically all our issues can be found in nature. A cursory examination of prior civilizations reveals that we have long known the benefits of biologically inspired materials, despite being uninformed of their specific workings and mechanisms. Now, with the help of advanced characterization and analysis tools, we are finally able to crack open nature’s treasure chest and use this unprecedented wealth of knowledge to engineer materials that can tackle problems that have tormented us. Using nanotechnology, scientists have developed bioinspired materials that are far superior to the traditional materials in use today. Superior properties, non-toxic ...