Collaboration between material scientists, biologists and chemists could advance the development of self-assembling
nanomaterials, called nanoarchitectonics, argues a review in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials.
And while cyber technologies currently capture the public imagination, investment in this type of collaborative
materials research is crucial in order to meet societal needs in energy storage, chemical sensing and a broad range of
biological applications.
Nanoarchitectonics allows the arrangement of groups of atoms or molecules into a preordained structure. They can be used
to create tiny electrical circuits, manipulate chemicals and create various building blocks for nanoscale technologies.
Nanoarchitectonics materials that self-assemble into the desired arrangement are necessary to optimize and advance these
technologies.
Katsuhiko Ariga and colleagues in Japan's National Institute for Materials Science examined recent progress in materials
nanoarchitectonics. They believe that predicting the future of these materials requires an examination of biological
systems, such as cell and protein surfaces, and macromolecular interfaces.
Self-assembled structures are common in biology, for example, in lipid layers or components of cytoskeletons; hence
understanding how to control the evolution and behavior of biological structures could help with nanoarchitectonics.
Although there is progress in developing some biological interface materials, creating highly sophisticated
self-assembled systems is not yet possible. Collaborations between material scientists, biologists and chemists are
needed to replicate the characteristics of highly evolved biological systems in nanomaterials.
"The development of functional materials by self-assembly nanoarchitectonics is analogous with the evolution of living
creatures from component molecules," the reviewers write. "However, while living systems took billions of years to
evolve, nanoarchitectonics could be used to accomplish many of its anticipated goals within the next few decades."