Applications of Nanofabrication Technologies in the Preparation of Biomimetic Structures

Biomimetic structures are now a major topic of research, as natural systems achieve high performance through hierarchical organization, multifunctional interfaces, and scale-bridging design principles. Nanofabrication provides a powerful approach to recapitulate biological architectures from the nanoscale to the macroscale, allowing accurate control of the surface chemistry, geometry, transport, mechanics and function. Recent work demonstrates that this approach is especially critical for bionic devices and systems, including biosensors, drug delivery platforms, tissue-engineered constructs, organ-on-chip systems, soft robots, and biohybrid devices. The aim of this review is to provide a systematic overview on how nanofabrication allows the construction of biomimetic structures, with emphasis on bio-templating and replication of natural structures, applications of nanofabrication in bionic devices and systems, and cross-scale biomimetics.