Engineered living materials: integration of living and nonliving systems

Engineered living materials (ELMs) are an emerging class of biohybrid materials that integrate living cells with nonliving matrices to create systems capable of sensing, responding, adapting, and, in some cases, self-repairing. By coupling the programmability of synthetic biology with the structural tunability of polymeric, inorganic, or composite scaffolds, ELMs offer a new route toward materials that perform dynamic functions beyond those of conventional biomaterials. However, ELMs remain limited by key challenges, including the trade-off between mechanical robustness and cellular viability, restricted mass transport, unstable long-term function, bio-abiotic interfacial complexity, biosafety risks, and scalable manufacturing. This review outlines recent advances in ELM design, fabrication, and applications, emphasizing chassis engineering, smart matrices, bioprinting, in situ growth, and translational potential in medicine, environmental remediation, and biomanufacturing. It further discusses emerging strategies, including multicellular consortia, genetic biocontainment, and artificial intelligence (AI)-guided inverse design, for developing predictable, safe, and adaptive living materials.