Session: Biomimetics I

This session discusses mimetic strategies in biomaterials design. It will highlight recent activities in the field of biomimetic materials and systems. Biomimesis is the process of coordinating molecular recognition and interactions to design biological, biohybrid, and artificial materials that can be structurally similar to and/or function in similar ways as biological structures and/or utilize biology or biological mechanisms in the rational design and engineering of materials. In particular, the focus of this session is on systems that mimic processes where the underlying biology and biomolecular principles are well understood. We invite topics with emphasis in drug delivery; cell adhesion, signaling, differentiation, and stimulation; tissue engineering and regenerative medicine; interfacial science and engineering; and biomaterials science which involve materials consisting of (i) natural biological molecules such as proteins, oligonucleotides and polynucleotides, and/or unnatural biomolecules that have been assembled/synthesized by biological systems; (ii) hybrid structures of synthetic (e.g., polymeric chains, metal particles, etc.) and natural biological molecules (i.e., conjugated biomaterials); or (iii) materials consisting of man-made and/or in-vitro building blocks, such as synthetic polymers, unnatural amino acids and aptamers, templated materials, polymersomes, etc.