My Note: I just saw an interesting title to an abstract "Chiroptical Kirigami Modulators for Terahertz Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy of Biomaterials" which lead to me this page. So many interesting things are being done in areas I have never heard about before.
http://www.umkotov.com/
Welcome to Biomimetic Nanostructures!
The “building blocks” of living organisms are
nanoscale in dimension. Capable of spontaneous self-assembly, they form complex
biological machinery with exceptional energy efficiencies of 89-95%. These
nanoscale biological components also assemble into biocomposites with
often-astounding combinations of properties – strength, density, transparency,
ion conductivity and others. One can poses a fundamental question: can such
machinery and materials can be reproduced using abiotic, inorganic building
blocks that are also capable of self-assembly? The current body of knowledge
accumulated for biomimetic nanostructures indicate that the answer is a
definite “yes” for some and definite “no” for some others. We have dedicated
our research efforts to understanding where the dividing line between these
answers is.
Inorganic nanoparticles can produce
multicomponent assemblies with sophisticated geometries, for instance left- and
right-handed helices or spiky mesoscale hedgehog particles. These
non-biological structures can have surprising similarities with biological
nanostructures despite their vastly different ingredients (i.e. inorganic
nanoparticles vs. biomacromolecules). These similarities arise because the
forces that govern the solution dynamics of these two very different classes of
nanoscale structures have a lot in common. While the accurate description of
forces between nanoscale structures is an ongoing scientific challenge, the
experimental and technological conditions needed to utilize the convergent technologies
involving inorganic nanostructures is remarkably simple once the fundamental
parallels in their interactions are recognized.
The rapid and controllable assembly of
inorganic nanostructures can be realized because the attractive interactions
between inorganic nanostructures are typically stronger than those between
biological building blocks. The change in entropy and enthalpy for association
of inorganic nanoparticles with each other are favorable. The complex
interdependence of the forces between nanoscale structures, which determine
their mutual organization and self-assembly patterns, can be simplified when
nanoparticles with high anisotropy, and especially nanoplatelets, are employed.
Materials designed in such a way form a large class of biomimetic layered
nanocomposites, and examples of their technological implementations are
abundant.
Replication of the brick-and-mortar structure
of tough iridescent seashells has led to a family of biomimetic composites made
from graphene, clay, cellulose, and other components. These composites have
revealed previously unattainable combinations of useful properties, including
mechanical robustness and rapid ion transport. High electrical conductivity and
spectrally tunable optical absorption have became possible due to the
translation of biological patterns to abiotic semiconductor and metallic
nanocomponents. Such materials have in turn engendered the construction of a
large family of energy storage and biomedical devices. They also serve as
membrane, load-bearing, and tissue-mimicking components in electronic devices.
Our current studies are aimed at the further
development and generalization of the toolbox of experimental, theoretical, and
computational techniques for the engineering of biomimetic nanostructures.
Current topics in this area include chiral inorganic nanomaterials, biosimilar
inorganic organelles, and pollen-like hedgehog particles, among others. The
motivations behind this research abound, including the ongoing quest for
ultrastrong multifunctional composites, materials for energy storage, and
biomedical implants. The new engineering fields emerging from these topics
include the convergent nanosystems for catalysis of ‘hard’ reactions, safe and
effective antimicrobial agents, and machine vision.
With an appreciation of the technical
challenges inherent in these problems, we have forged collaborations with
colleagues around the globe. We value creativity, integrity, and tenacity in
every person with whom we work.
Nicholas A. Kotov
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