biofused

Biofused is a term used to describe the integration or fusion of biological components with non-biological materials to create biohybrid systems. It encompasses approaches that combine living cells, biomolecules, or biological motifs with polymers, ceramics, or electronic substrates to endow materials with life-like functions such as responsiveness, self-healing, or sensing.

The term originated in materials science and synthetic biology as a descriptive label for hybrids that blend living or bio-inspired elements with conventional materials. It is not a formal scientific discipline, but a way researchers and industry professionals characterize efforts that go beyond purely synthetic or purely biological approaches.

Techniques commonly associated with biofused work include biofabrication and bioprinting, genetic engineering of materials, enzymatic cross-linking, and surface functionalization with biopolymers. It also covers the embedding or growth of living cells within scaffolds or gels, as well as the creation of living materials that can respond to stimuli, metabolize substrates, or repair themselves.

Applications span biosensing devices, tissue engineering scaffolds, wound-healing materials, soft robotics, and bioelectronic interfaces. Biofused concepts also appear in environmental remediation systems that leverage biological activity to process pollutants or release useful byproducts.

Challenges for the field include reproducibility and scalability, biocompatibility and safety, regulatory and ethical considerations, and the long-term stability of biohybrid systems. Progress relies on interdisciplinary collaboration among biology, chemistry, materials science, and engineering to translate biofused ideas into reliable technologies.