Nanotechnology involves the creation and manipulation of complex structures on the scale of nanometers-- something organisms have done for about 3.8 billion years. Using DNA, RNA, and a huge variety of proteins, living cells build complex molecules and nanoscale organelles, and create nonliving materials, such as tooth enamel, with nanoscale structures. So it is logical for nanotechnologists to seek to duplicate organisms' own techniques to try to create new nanomachines from the bottom up.

Although biomimetic nanotechnology is in its infancy, with no applications yet reaching commercialization, the barriers in some cases lie mainly in scaling up production processes to industrial levels. In others, researchers must make significant basic breakthroughs to bridge the gap between laboratory experiments and usefulness.