Living dynamic polymeric materials

Abstract

Many materials exhibit static and functional properties. This article elaborates on how the last few decades of material research have demonstrated the apparent similarities between the equilibrium thermodynamics of static materials and the biological world utilizing non-equilibria biological processes. Dynamic polymer networks involving covalent and non-covalent multi-stimulus materials at nano-, micro-, and macro-scales and their biological counterparts at molecular, cellular, and species levels are addressed in the context of opportunities and challenges governing their development involving non-equilibria processes.