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Mucus is a 3D hydrogel composed of mucins that houses the human microbiome. Mucus guides microbial cell fate and is involved in the suppression of pathogenic bacteria. In this Review, the authors discuss the design of synthetic mucins for the investigation of mucus–microbiome interactions and for applications in 3D in vitro cell culture.
Shape-memory materials can generate programmable movements triggered by an external stimulus, such as an environmental change. In this Review, the authors discuss mechanisms, fabrication schemes, characterization methods and applications of the one-way shape-memory effect enabling shape recovery and of reversible shape-memory effects exhibiting actuation behaviour.
Man-made fibrillar hydrogels mimic the structure of filamentous extracellular matrices and can be used as biomaterials for 3D cell culture and tissue engineering. In this Review, the authors discuss the design and properties of fibrillar hydrogels and explore different building blocks, assembly mechanisms, properties and applications.
Chalcogenide phase-change materials (PCMs) are leading candidates for non-volatile memory and neuro-inspired computing devices. This Review focuses on the crystallization mechanisms of PCMs as well as the design principles to achieve PCMs with high switching speeds and good data retention, which will aid the development of PCM-based universal memory and neuro-inspired devices.
