Biomimetics is the study of biological substances, materials, mechanisms and processes for the purpose of recreating them for a variety of applications. Now, imagine this research breaking out of the labs and onto war-torn battlefields — not as weapons, but as tools to protect U.S. soldiers.
It’s this idea that has earned a researcher at the New York University (NYU) Polytechnic School of Engineering a grant of $368,000 over three years from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory’s Army Research Office (ARO).
Biomimetics is not new, but this research stands out in that it uses biologically-engineered proteins instead of synthetic polymers and materials. Funding will be used to advance an investigation into protein-engineered, environmentally-responsive hydrogels that can replicate biochemical processes found in nature.
These hydrogels are made from the bacterium Escherichia coli, or more commonly known as E. coli. The food-contaminating bacteria most recently made headlines after the Niagara Bottling company was forced to recall 14 brands of bottled spring water produced at two Pennsylvania manufacturing plants.
Associate professor Jin Kim Montclare of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NYU admits the E. coli bacteria are used almost like tiny hydrogel factories.
“The E. coli bacteria is used to synthesize the protein materials,” Montclare told ENGINEERING.com. “We program the bacteria to construct the proteins and then harvest the bacteria so we can isolate the protein materials, which would form the hydrogel.”
Examples of patterned biological surfaces inspired by nature that NYU's Jin Kim Montclare is engineering. Top: cilia lining; bottom: gecko foot. (Photo:NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering)
Montclare explains the materials can also be controlled by external stimuli like temperature and salt.
“The protein hydrogel changes structure upon heat or pH change, as they are designed to respond to such changes,” Montclare said. “This transformation in structure can lead to changes in physical properties of the hydrogels such as swelling or stiffening.”
The hydrogels are hoped to become the building blocks for new biomimetic materials, which could be used in applications ranging from drug delivery to treating injuries. “These biomimetic materials could mimic the adhesion properties of the human body well enough to heal wounds,” according to a press release by NYU Polytechnic.
Montclare believes biomimetic materials made from the hydrogels could sense and control the flow of fluids, able to direct drugs delivered to the bloodstream.
With these possible applications, it seems the hydrogels could become a miracle material. Like many things before it, including the ARPANET, predecessor to the Internet, this won’t likely be used strictly by the military for long. It could eventually have applications in public hospitals and wearable tech.
We’ll just have to wait and see.