Learning from Nature: Using bioinspired approaches and natural materials to make porous bioceramics

Learning from Nature is a humble and smart approach to fabricate implantable biomaterials with complex hierarchies and porous microstructures which can effectively mimic the natural tissues that they have to replace and regenerate. Biological structures such as corals, marine sponges, wood, and vegetal products can be used as sacrificial templates to produce porous bioceramics that inherit the natural morphology and multiscale porous organization. This review gives a picture of bioinspired ceramics for medical applications and highlights the technological and industrial challenges associated with this attractive and fascinating field of research.