E. Birch, Ben Bridgens, Meng Zhang, M. Dade-Robertson
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
The urgency for energy efficient, responsive architectures has propelled smart material development to the forefront of scientific and architectural research. This paper explores biological, physical, and morphological factors influencing the programming of a novel microbial-based smart hybrid material which is responsive to changes in environmental humidity. Hygromorphs respond passively, without energy input, by expanding in high humidity and contracting in low humidity. Bacillus subtilis develops environmentally robust, hygromorphic spores which may be harnessed within a bilayer to generate a deflection response with potential for programmability. The bacterial spore-based hygromorph biocomposites (HBCs) were developed and aggregated to enable them to open and close apertures and demonstrate programmable responses to changes in environmental humidity. This study spans many fields including microbiology, materials science, design, fabrication and architectural technology, working at multiple scales from single cells to 'bench-top' prototype. Exploration of biological factors at cellular and ultracellular levels enabled optimisation of growth and sporulation conditions to biologically preprogramme optimum spore hygromorphic response and yield. Material explorations revealed physical factors influencing biomechanics, preprograming shape and response complexity through fabrication and inert substrate interactions, to produce a palette of HBCs. Morphological aggregation was designed to harness and scale-up the HBC palette into programmable humidity responsive aperture openings. This culminated in pilot performance testing of a humidity-responsive ventilation panel fabricated with aggregated Bacillus HBCs as a bench-top prototype and suggests potential for this novel biotechnology to be further developed.
期刊介绍:
Bioinspiration & Biomimetics publishes research involving the study and distillation of principles and functions found in biological systems that have been developed through evolution, and application of this knowledge to produce novel and exciting basic technologies and new approaches to solving scientific problems. It provides a forum for interdisciplinary research which acts as a pipeline, facilitating the two-way flow of ideas and understanding between the extensive bodies of knowledge of the different disciplines. It has two principal aims: to draw on biology to enrich engineering and to draw from engineering to enrich biology.
The journal aims to include input from across all intersecting areas of both fields. In biology, this would include work in all fields from physiology to ecology, with either zoological or botanical focus. In engineering, this would include both design and practical application of biomimetic or bioinspired devices and systems. Typical areas of interest include:
Systems, designs and structure
Communication and navigation
Cooperative behaviour
Self-organizing biological systems
Self-healing and self-assembly
Aerial locomotion and aerospace applications of biomimetics
Biomorphic surface and subsurface systems
Marine dynamics: swimming and underwater dynamics
Applications of novel materials
Biomechanics; including movement, locomotion, fluidics
Cellular behaviour
Sensors and senses
Biomimetic or bioinformed approaches to geological exploration.