Honeycomb Biosilica in Sponges: From Understanding Principles of Unique Hierarchical Organization to Assessing Biomimetic Potential.

Structural bioinspiration in modern material science and biomimetics represents an actual trend that was originally based on the bioarchitectural diversity of invertebrate skeletons, specifically, honeycomb constructs of natural origin, which have been in humanities focus since ancient times. We conducted a study on the principles of bioarchitecture regarding the unique biosilica-based honeycomb-like skeleton of the deep-sea glass sponge . Experimental data show, with compelling evidence, the location of actin filaments within honeycomb-formed hierarchical siliceous walls.