ETH Zurich plans to fabricate ‘living structures’ that shall track their conditions and heal themselves autonomously just as our body cells. The scientists at ETH Zurich is planning to launch an interdisciplinary platform consisting of scientists, technologist, computing analysts, and entrepreneurs to develop these self-healing materials from scratch into a large scale industrial perspective.

The institute is planning to conduct an initial workshop and technical meet in spring 2020, primarily to define the goals and the research objectives along with the inception of the first transdisciplinary project. The current trends of science allow us to externally insert a sensor material into the system to measure stress, strain, structural parameters, and other material functions. The incorporation process, along with the secondary process optimizations, results in extra investment and elevates the disruptive factor, especially for instruments used in construction and civil engineering. The symposium aims to synthesize solutions to such problems with intrinsic intelligence that shall respond with the applied stimuli and self-heal its damaged parts autonomously.

Intrinsic self-sensing concrete reinforced with carbon fibers and nickel power is one of the examples of inherently sensitive material. The material can respond differently in various environments producing results that can predict cracks, fatigue, moisture, and yield stress within the structural framework.

The next planned devolvement is to fabricate materials with enhanced self-repairable properties. Last year, the United States researchers developed a biomimetic process inspired by photosynthesis, which responds to the environment by reacting with carbon dioxide. On this note, the biomimetics stimuli sensing process also makes use of the bacterial that forms a cell line when exposed to moisture. As a result, these cell lines help the cracks developed in the concrete to heal on their own. A recent project funded by the National Institute of Health aims to use the ‘healing fluid’ derived from microvascular networks, which can polymerize to fill the crack, similar to a skin healing phenomenon.

The amalgamation of material science, along with biotechnology, proves to be a novel concept and holds a vital spot in disrupting the future of scientific realms. Evolved DNA tools and techniques such as computational biological methods with the supplement from additive manufacturing and 3D printing can add on various functionalities into cells for various tailor-made applications.

However, the most challenging part of developing these systems is to predict the safety of the materials which behave under its influences. Moreover, the question of how humans and animals shall react to a customized environment consisting of living organizations is still an issue of concern. As bioethical perspective plays a significant role, the researchers, along with developing the new technologies, should also plan to prevent the synthetic organisms-leaching from the applied surface into the surrounding water.

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