materials Review Bottom-Up Synthesis and Sensor Applications of Biomimetic Nanostructures Li Wang 1,*, Yujing Sun 2, Zhuang Li 2, Aiguo Wu 3 and Gang Wei 4,* Received: 25 November 2015; Accepted: 7 January 2016; Published: 18 January 2016 Academic Editor: Erik Reimhult 1 College of Chemistry, Jilin Normal University, Haifeng Street 1301, Siping 136000, China 2 State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Renmin Street 5625, Changchun 130022, China;
[email protected] (Y.S.);
[email protected] (Z.L.) 3 Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices & Division of Functional Materials and Nanodevices, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China;
[email protected] 4 Faculty of Production Engineering, University of Bremen, Am Fallturm 1, D-28359 Bremen, Germany * Correspondence:
[email protected] (L.W.);
[email protected] (G.W.); Tel.: +86-139-4441-1011 (L.W.); +49-421-2186-4581 (G.W.) Abstract: The combination of nanotechnology, biology, and bioengineering greatly improved the developments of nanomaterials with unique functions and properties. Biomolecules as the nanoscale building blocks play very important roles for the final formation of functional nanostructures. Many kinds of novel nanostructures have been created by using the bioinspired self-assembly and subsequent binding with various nanoparticles. In this review, we summarized the studies on the fabrications and sensor applications of biomimetic nanostructures. The strategies for creating different bottom-up nanostructures by using biomolecules like DNA, protein, peptide, and virus, as well as microorganisms like bacteria and plant leaf are introduced.