Plant Cell Wall-Like Soft Materials: Micro- and Nanoengineering, Properties, and Applications.

Plant cell wall (CW)-like soft materials, referred to as artificial CWs, are composites of assembled polymers containing micro-/nanoparticles or fibers/fibrils that are designed to mimic the composition, structure, and mechanics of plant CWs. CW-like materials have recently emerged to test hypotheses pertaining to the intricate structure-property relationships of native plant CWs or to fabricate functional materials. Here, research on plant CWs and CW-like materials is reviewed by distilling key studies on biomimetic composites primarily composed of plant polysaccharides, including cellulose, pectin, and hemicellulose, as well as organic polymers like lignin.