Materiomics
Encyclopedia
Materiomics is defined as the study of the material properties of natural and synthetic materials by examining fundamental links between processes, structures and properties at multiple scales, from nano to macro, by using systematic experimental, theoretical or computational methods.

The term has been independently proposed with slightly different definitions by T. Akita et al. (AIST/Japan, 2004), M.J. Buehler (MIT/USA, 2008) and C. A. van Blitterswijk, J. de Boer and H. Unadkat (University of Twente/The Netherlands, 2008) in analogy to genomics
Genomics
Genomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...

, the study of an organism's entire genome
Genome
In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....

. Similarly, materiomics refers to the study of the processes, structures and properties of materials from a fundamental, systematic perspective by incorporating all relevant scales, from nano to macro, in the synthesis and function of materials and structures. The integrated view of these interactions at all scales is referred to as a material's materiome.

Materiomics includes the study of a broad range of materials, which includes metals, ceramics and polymers as well as biological materials and tissues and their interaction with synthetic materials. Materiomics finds applications in elucidating the biological role of materials in biology, for instance in the progression and diagnosis or the treatment of diseases. Others have proposed to apply materiomics concepts to help identify new material platforms for tissue engineering applications, for instance for the de novo development of biomaterials. Materiomics might also hold promises for nanoscience and nanotechnology, where the understanding of material concepts at multiple scales could enable the bottom-up development of new structures and materials or devices, including biomimetic and bioinspired structures.

The understanding of the materiome is still at its infancy, as the role of the relationship between processes, structures and properties of materials in particular in biological organisms is thus far only partially explored and understood. Approaches in studying the materiome include multi-scale simulation methods (e.g. molecular dynamics
Molecular dynamics
Molecular dynamics is a computer simulation of physical movements of atoms and molecules. The atoms and molecules are allowed to interact for a period of time, giving a view of the motion of the atoms...

), multi-scale experiments (e.g. AFM, optical tweezers
Optical tweezers
Optical tweezers are scientific instruments that use a highly focused laser beam to provide an attractive or repulsive force , depending on the refractive index mismatch to physically hold and move microscopic dielectric objects...

, dual polarisation interferometry
Dual Polarisation Interferometry
Dual polarization interferometry is an analytical technique that can probe molecular scale layers adsorbed to the surface of a waveguide by using the evanescent wave of a laser beam confined to the waveguide...

, nanoindentation, micromechanics, etc.) as well as high-throughput methods based on combination of these techniques.

Materiomics is related to proteomics
Proteomics
Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins, particularly their structures and functions. Proteins are vital parts of living organisms, as they are the main components of the physiological metabolic pathways of cells. The term "proteomics" was first coined in 1997 to make an analogy with...

, where the difference is the focus on material properties, stability, failure and mechanistic insight into multi-scale phenomena. Materiomics is the result of the convergence of engineering and materials science with experimental and computational biology in the context of natural and synthetic materials. The impact of materiomics is the establishment of fundamental advances in our understanding of structure–property–process relations of biological systems contribute to the mechanistic understanding of certain diseases and facilitate the development of novel biological, biologically inspired, and completely synthetic materials for applications in medicine (biomaterials), nanotechnology, and engineering.

See also

  • Genomics
    Genomics
    Genomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...

  • Proteomics
    Proteomics
    Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins, particularly their structures and functions. Proteins are vital parts of living organisms, as they are the main components of the physiological metabolic pathways of cells. The term "proteomics" was first coined in 1997 to make an analogy with...

  • Bionanotechnology
  • Universality-diversity paradigm
    Universality-diversity paradigm
    The universality-diversity paradigm is the analysis of biological materials based on the universality and diversity of its fundamental structural elements and functional mechanisms...

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