Biological Materials: Structure and Mechanical Properties
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Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Progress in Materials Science 53 (2008) 1–206 www.elsevier.com/locate/pmatsci Biological materials: Structure and mechanical properties Marc Andre´ Meyers *, Po-Yu Chen, Albert Yu-Min Lin, Yasuaki Seki Materials Science and Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States Abstract Most natural (or biological) materials are complex composites whose mechanical properties are often outstanding, considering the weak constituents from which they are assembled. These complex structures, which have risen from hundreds of million years of evolution, are inspiring Materials Sci- entists in the design of novel materials. Their defining characteristics, hierarchy, multifunctionality, and self-healing capability, are illus- trated. Self-organization is also a fundamental feature of many biological materials and the manner by which the structures are assembled from the molecular level up. The basic building blocks are described, starting with the 20 amino acids and proceeding to polypeptides, polysaccharides, and polypeptides–saccharides. These, on their turn, compose the basic proteins, which are the primary constituents of ‘soft tissues’ and are also present in most biominerals. There are over 1000 proteins, and we describe only the principal ones, with emphasis on collagen, chitin, keratin, and elastin. The ‘hard’ phases are primarily strengthened by minerals, which nucleate and grow in a biomediated environment that determines the size, shape and distribution of individual crystals. The most impor- tant mineral phases are discussed: hydroxyapatite, silica, and aragonite. Using the classification of Wegst and Ashby, the principal mechanical characteristics and struc- tures of biological ceramics, polymer composites, elastomers, and cellular materials are presented. Selected systems in each class are described with emphasis on the relationship between their structure and mechanical response. A fifth class is added to this: functional biological materials, which have a structure developed for a specific function: adhesion, optical properties, etc. An outgrowth of this effort is the search for bioinspired materials and structures. Traditional approaches focus on design methodologies of biological materials using conventional synthetic * Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (M.A. Meyers). 0079-6425/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.pmatsci.2007.05.002 2 M.A. Meyers et al. / Progress in Materials Science 53 (2008) 1–206 materials. The new frontiers reside in the synthesis of bioinspired materials through processes that are characteristic of biological systems; these involve nanoscale self-assembly of the components and the development of hierarchical structures. Although this approach is still in its infancy, it will eventually lead to a plethora of new materials systems as we elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of growth and the structure of biological systems. Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction and basic overview of mechanical properties . 3 2. Hierarchical organization of structure . 7 3. Multifunctionality and self-healing. 11 4. Self-organization and self-assembly . 11 5. Basic building blocks (nano and microstructure of biological materials) . 12 5.1. Molecular units. 14 5.2. Biominerals . 18 5.2.1. Biomineralization . 21 5.2.2. Nucleation . 21 5.2.3. Morphology. 21 5.3. Proteins (polypeptides). 24 5.3.1. Collagen . 24 5.3.2. Keratin . 33 5.3.3. Actin and myosin . 36 5.3.4. Elastin. 36 5.3.5. Resilin and abductin. 37 5.3.6. Other proteins . 37 5.4. Polysaccharides . 38 5.4.1. Chitin . 38 5.4.2. Cellulose . 40 6. Biological ceramics and ceramic composites . 42 6.1. Sponge spicules . 42 6.2. Shells . 45 6.2.1. Nacreous shells . 48 6.2.2. Conch (Strombus gigas) shell . 72 6.2.3. Giant clam (Tridacna gigas)................................ 77 6.3. Shrimp hammer . 81 6.4. Marine worm teeth . 84 6.5. Bone . 85 6.5.1. Structure . 86 6.5.2. Elastic properties . 86 6.5.3. Strength. 91 6.5.4. Fracture and fracture toughness of bone . 94 6.6. Teeth . 99 6.6.1. Structure and properties . 99 6.6.2. Growth and hierarchical structure of elephant tusk . 103 6.7. Nano-scale effects in biological materials. 105 6.8. Multi-scale effects . 109 7. Biological polymers and polymer composites . 110 7.1. Ligaments. 111 7.2. Silk . 112 M.A. Meyers et al. / Progress in Materials Science 53 (2008) 1–206 3 7.3. Arthropod exoskeletons . 116 7.4. Keratin-based materials: hoof and horn . 121 8. Biological elastomers . 122 8.1. Skin . 122 8.2. Muscle . 128 8.3. Blood vessels . 129 8.3.1. Non-linearelasticity.................................. 132 8.3.2. Residualstresses..................................... 132 8.4. Mussel byssus . 134 8.5. Cells . 135 8.5.1. Structureandmechanicalproperties....................... 135 8.5.2. Mechanicaltesting................................... 137 8.5.3. Cellmotility,locomotion,andadhesion.................... 141 9. Biological cellular materials. 146 9.1. Basic equations . 146 9.2. Wood. 151 9.3. Beak interior. 156 9.3.1. Toucanandhornbillbeaks............................. 156 9.3.2. Modeling of interior foam (Gibson–Ashby constitutive equations) . 158 9.4. Feather. 163 10. Functional biological materials . 166 10.1. Gecko feet and other biological attachment devices . 166 10.2. Structural colors. 171 10.2.1. Photonic crystal arrays . 172 10.2.2. Thin film interference . 173 10.3. Chameleon. 174 11. Bioinspired materials . 176 11.1. Traditional biomimetics . 177 11.1.1. Aerospace materials . 177 11.1.2. Building designs . 179 11.1.3. Fiber optics and micro-lenses . 180 11.1.4. Manufacturing . 182 11.1.5. Water collection. 184 11.1.6. Velcro . 184 11.1.7. Gecko feet. 185 11.1.8. Abalone . 186 11.1.9. Marine adhesives . ..