Bioinspired composite structures: A comprehensive review of natural materials, fabrication methods, and engineering applications

Biomimetic materials have emerged as a promising alternative to synthetic materials due to their potential to mimic biological architecture across multiple scales, from nanofibrous architectures to macroscopic gradients. Natural materials, such as bone, wood, spider silk, and mollusk shells, have re...

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Main Authors: M A Shadab Siddiqui, M S Rabbi, Radif Uddin Ahmed, Fahad Alam, M A M Hossain, Shamim Ahsan, Nur Mohammad Miah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Composites Part C: Open Access
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666682025000222
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author M A Shadab Siddiqui
M S Rabbi
Radif Uddin Ahmed
Fahad Alam
M A M Hossain
Shamim Ahsan
Nur Mohammad Miah
author_facet M A Shadab Siddiqui
M S Rabbi
Radif Uddin Ahmed
Fahad Alam
M A M Hossain
Shamim Ahsan
Nur Mohammad Miah
author_sort M A Shadab Siddiqui
collection DOAJ
description Biomimetic materials have emerged as a promising alternative to synthetic materials due to their potential to mimic biological architecture across multiple scales, from nanofibrous architectures to macroscopic gradients. Natural materials, such as bone, wood, spider silk, and mollusk shells, have remarkable mechanical properties owing to their complex hierarchical structure. They process a unique combination of organic and inorganic components. Inspired by these biological composites, advanced synthetic materials with improved strength, toughness, and functionality have been developed. This review highlights the multifaceted approaches to creating scaffolds that mimic extracellular matrix (ECM) and tissue hierarchies across multiple length scales. Among these, nacre, mollusk shells, and eggshells exhibit remarkable versatility in their adaptation to various fabrication methods, suggesting their promising role in future biomimicry. Also, various fabrication techniques for biomimetic composite scaffolds are explored, including 3D printing, electrospinning, and self-assembly methods. The strong focus on biomedical applications highlights the natural synergy between bioinspired materials and medical innovations, particularly in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. This overview of current strategies and future directions in the field will be of interest to researchers in materials science, tissue engineering, as well as biomedicine. The paper presents the possibility of biomimetic composites changing the way many applications, from biomedical implants to sustainable engineering solutions.
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publisher Elsevier
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series Composites Part C: Open Access
spelling doaj-art-8ef7df3ab80540f183ce23e0b68bde4e2025-08-20T03:01:42ZengElsevierComposites Part C: Open Access2666-68202025-07-011710057810.1016/j.jcomc.2025.100578Bioinspired composite structures: A comprehensive review of natural materials, fabrication methods, and engineering applicationsM A Shadab Siddiqui0M S Rabbi1Radif Uddin Ahmed2Fahad Alam3M A M Hossain4Shamim Ahsan5Nur Mohammad Miah6Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology, Chattogram 4349, Bangladesh; Materials Science & Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology, Chattogram 4349, Bangladesh; Corresponding author.Department of Mechanical Engineering, Louisiana Tech University, 505 Tech Dr, Ruston, LA 71270, USAMaterials Science & Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology, Chattogram 4349, BangladeshDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology, Chattogram 4349, BangladeshDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology, Chattogram 4349, BangladeshBiomimetic materials have emerged as a promising alternative to synthetic materials due to their potential to mimic biological architecture across multiple scales, from nanofibrous architectures to macroscopic gradients. Natural materials, such as bone, wood, spider silk, and mollusk shells, have remarkable mechanical properties owing to their complex hierarchical structure. They process a unique combination of organic and inorganic components. Inspired by these biological composites, advanced synthetic materials with improved strength, toughness, and functionality have been developed. This review highlights the multifaceted approaches to creating scaffolds that mimic extracellular matrix (ECM) and tissue hierarchies across multiple length scales. Among these, nacre, mollusk shells, and eggshells exhibit remarkable versatility in their adaptation to various fabrication methods, suggesting their promising role in future biomimicry. Also, various fabrication techniques for biomimetic composite scaffolds are explored, including 3D printing, electrospinning, and self-assembly methods. The strong focus on biomedical applications highlights the natural synergy between bioinspired materials and medical innovations, particularly in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. This overview of current strategies and future directions in the field will be of interest to researchers in materials science, tissue engineering, as well as biomedicine. The paper presents the possibility of biomimetic composites changing the way many applications, from biomedical implants to sustainable engineering solutions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666682025000222Bioinspired composite structureNatural materialsFabricationEngineering applications
spellingShingle M A Shadab Siddiqui
M S Rabbi
Radif Uddin Ahmed
Fahad Alam
M A M Hossain
Shamim Ahsan
Nur Mohammad Miah
Bioinspired composite structures: A comprehensive review of natural materials, fabrication methods, and engineering applications
Composites Part C: Open Access
Bioinspired composite structure
Natural materials
Fabrication
Engineering applications
title Bioinspired composite structures: A comprehensive review of natural materials, fabrication methods, and engineering applications
title_full Bioinspired composite structures: A comprehensive review of natural materials, fabrication methods, and engineering applications
title_fullStr Bioinspired composite structures: A comprehensive review of natural materials, fabrication methods, and engineering applications
title_full_unstemmed Bioinspired composite structures: A comprehensive review of natural materials, fabrication methods, and engineering applications
title_short Bioinspired composite structures: A comprehensive review of natural materials, fabrication methods, and engineering applications
title_sort bioinspired composite structures a comprehensive review of natural materials fabrication methods and engineering applications
topic Bioinspired composite structure
Natural materials
Fabrication
Engineering applications
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666682025000222
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