Certain organisms including species of mollusks, polychaetes, onychophorans and arthropods produce exceptional polymeric materials outside their bodies under ambient conditions using concentrated fluid protein precursors. While much is understood about the structure-function relationships that define the properties of such materials, comparatively less is understood about how such materials are fabricated and specifically, how their defining hierarchical structures are achieved via bottom-up assembly. Yet this information holds great potential for inspiring sustainable manufacture of advanced polymeric materials with controlled multi-scale structure. In the present perspective, we first examine recent work elucidating the formation of the tough adhesive fibres of the mussel byssus via secretion of vesicles filled with condensed liquid protein phases (coacervates and liquid crystals)—highlighting which design principles are relevant for bio-inspiration. In the second part of the perspective, we examine the potential of recent advances in drops and additive manufacturing as a bioinspired platform for mimicking such processes to produce hierarchically structured materials.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Bio-derived and bioinspired sustainable advanced materials for emerging technologies (part 1)’.

某些生物体，包括软体动物、多毛类、有甲类动物和节肢动物，在环境条件下使用浓缩的流体蛋白质前体在体外产生特殊的聚合物材料。虽然对定义此类材料特性的结构 - 功能关系了解很多，但对此类材料的制造方式，特别是如何通过自下而上的组装实现其定义的分层结构的了解相对较少。然而，这些信息对于激发具有可控多尺度结构的先进聚合物材料的可持续制造具有巨大潜力。在目前看来，我们首先检查了最近的工作，阐明了通过分泌充满浓缩液体蛋白质相（凝聚层和液晶）的囊泡来形成贻贝的坚韧粘合纤维——强调哪些设计原则与生物灵感相关。在视角的第二部分，我们研究了滴剂和增材制造的最新进展作为模仿此类过程以生产分层结构材料的仿生平台的潜力。

本文是主题问题“用于新兴技术的生物衍生和仿生可持续先进材料（第 1 部分）”的一部分。