Guidance of cellular nematic elastomers into shape-programmable living surfaces
Engineering living materials that autonomously morph into predetermined shapes holds potential for synthetic morphogenesis and soft robotics. Harnessing cellular tissues to self-organize and generate forces offers a promising route toward this goal. However, controlling tissue mechanics to direct morphogenesis remains challenging. We introduce a strategy to program tissue-shape transformations through nematic organization of cellular forces. By controlling nematic order and topological defects, we generate tissues programmed with specific stress fields. Using a theoretical framework coupling contractile nematics with thin-sheet mechanics, we show that nematically guided active stresses can drive morphogenesis through Gaussian morphing. Experimentally, detachment of nematic tissues triggers out-of-plane deformations, generating reproducible three-dimensional shapes. Integrating contractility and nematic patterning, our approach establishes a framework for designing shape-programmable living surfaces.
Authors
- Manuel Gómez‐González (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5091-0411)
- Xavier Trepat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7621-5214)
- Pradeep K. Bal
- Pau Guillamat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7050-4672)
- Pere Roca‐Cusachs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6947-961X)
- Marino Arroyo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1647-940X)
- Waleed Mirza
Institutions
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES)
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (ES)
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (ES)
- International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering (ES)
- Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (ES)
- Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (ES)
- Universitat de Barcelona (ES)
- Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2026-04-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adz9174
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Materials and Mechanics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 10.98
Funders
- Fundació la Marató de TV3
- European Commission
- Human Frontier Science Program
- Generalitat de Catalunya
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- European Research Council
- HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions