Living creatures are continuous sources of inspiration for designing synthetic materials. However, living creatures are typically different from synthetic materials because the former consist of living cells to support their growth and regeneration. Although natural systems can grow materials with sophisticated microstructures, how to harness living cells to grow materials with predesigned microstructures in engineering systems remains largely elusive. Here, an attempt to exploit living bacteria and 3D‐printed materials to grow bionic mineralized composites with ordered microstructures is reported. The bionic composites exhibit outstanding specific strength and fracture toughness, which are comparable to natural composites, and exceptional energy absorption capability superior to both natural and artificial counterparts. This report opens the door for 3D‐architectured hybrid synthetic–living materials with living ordered microstructures and exceptional properties.

中文翻译：

---

生长具有有序微观结构和卓越机械性能的活性复合材料

生物是设计合成材料的持续灵感来源。然而，生物通常与合成材料不同，因为前者由活细胞组成，以支持它们的生长和再生。尽管自然系统可以生长出具有复杂微结构的材料，但如何在工程系统中利用活细胞来生长具有预先设计的微结构的材料仍然很难实现。在这里，报道了利用活细菌和 3D 打印材料来生长具有有序微结构的仿生矿化复合材料的尝试。仿生复合材料具有可与天然复合材料相媲美的出色比强度和断裂韧性，以及优于天然和人造复合材料的卓越能量吸收能力。