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Polymers and Self Assembly: From Biology to Nanomaterials Poster Session II
29-POS
Board 29
Precision Assembly of Biologically Functional Abiotic/Biotic Materials
Carlo Montemagno
.
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Mankind has crafted its world through the creative manipulation of a small number of
fundamental machines. In the agricultural and mechanical ages all the trappings of civilization
were crafted from the six fundamental machines of physics: the screw; the wheel and axle; the
incline plane; the lever; the pulley; and the wedge. The modern electronic age was established
through the addition of five fundamental machines to humankind’s toolbox: the diode; the
transistor; the inductor; the resistor; and the capacitor. Our civilization is founded on the creative
exploitation of the properties of only 11 different building blocks. The ability of living systems
to transform matter and actively interact with the environment sets them apart from current
systems made by man. This difference in complexity can be attributed to the fact that nature has
tens of thousands of building blocks to work with instead of the 11 used by man.
Presented is a new technology that transitions additive manufacturing from 3D space to a four-
dimensional, functional space. Through developments in stabilizing a very large set of integral
membrane proteins, the suite of tools available to engineer complex systems has been greatly
expanded. A new class of printable inks is being produced that integrates peptides and functional
proteins with polymer constructs enabling the incorporation of biological metabolism as an
intrinsic property into materials. Presented is a new class of materials and devices that possess a
functional architecture that transform energy, and collect, process and act on information in
response to changes in their local environment.