The properties displayed by nanomaterials are important in nanotechnology. Those properties frequently go
beyond just simply hardness or conductivity to encompass actual functions. There are already many more nanomaterials
in existence than can be introduced here, and the breadth of functions and possibilities that they show is
truly infinite.
Bio-inspired materials, in particular, show astounding possibilities where functions are concerned. Deriving
their name from the way they incorporate mechanisms inspired by those found in such living systems as biomolecules,
cells or whole organisms, or the interplay between such elements, bio-inspired materials are new functional materials
made possible by nanotechnology.
To give an example, materials called "dynamic nanogels" feature
the ability shown by proteins to fold automatically. Another example concerns so-called "molecular chaperones," which
are natural nanomachines that appear to associate with, and provide help to, proteins in living cells throughout
their life cycles. Research is being done on applying the mechanisms behind molecular chaperones to the development
of materials that could be useful in bio-engineering and medicine.
