Structural Motifs in Soft Fibrous Tissues: Revealing Structure-Mechanics Relationships in Deformation and Tear Resistance for Biomimetic Material Design

Over millions of years, nature has optimized soft fibrous tissues (SFTs) to exhibit exceptional mechanical properties—characteristics that remain challenging to replicate in engineered materials. These properties emerge from simple, repeating building blocks organized into complex structural motifs, which collectively enable diverse and robust mechanical functions. Although such motifs are common across SFTs, their specific composition and architecture define the physiological roles of each tissue. There is a growing need to develop tissue constructs and implantable devices that replicate the structural integrity, mechanical performance, and long-term functionality of native tissues across multiple hierarchical levels. Despite the clinical relevance of mimicking SFT mechanics in synthetic systems, the fundamental structure–mechanics relationships underpinning these behaviors remain incompletely understood. This review synthesizes recent advances in elucidating how structural motifs in SFTs contribute to their mechanical performance and explores how these principles can inform the design of biomimetic materials. It further highlights emerging strategies in soft-engineered material systems and their mechanical characterization. By clarifying the links between tissue architecture and properties such as deformation and tear resistance, this work proposes design guidelines for developing the next generation of resilient, functional, and translationally relevant bioengineered materials.