From bioinspired multifunctionality to mimumes

The methodologies of bioinspiration, biomimetics, and bioreplication are inevitably pointing to the incorporation of multifunctionality in engineered materials when designing ever more complex systems. Optimal multifunctionality is also the defining characteristic of metamaterials. As fibrous materials are commonly manufactured from a variety of source materials, mimumes---i.e., microfibrous multifunctional metamaterials---are industrially viable even today, as exemplified by mimumes of parylene C. The microfibrous morphology of mimumes will enhance surface-dominated effects in comparison to those evinced by bulk materials.