Liquid crystals (LCs) are omnipresent in living matter, whose chirality is an elegant and distinct feature in certain plant tissues, the cuticles of crabs, beetles, arthropods, and beyond. Taking inspiration from nature, researchers have recently devoted extensive efforts toward developing chiral liquid crystalline materials with self‐organized nanostructures and exploring their potential applications in diverse fields ranging from dynamic photonics to energy and safety issues. In this review, an account on the state of the art of emerging chiral liquid crystalline nanostructured materials and their technological applications is provided. First, an overview on the significance of chiral liquid crystalline architectures in various living systems is given. Then, the recent significant progress in different chiral liquid crystalline systems including thermotropic LCs (cholesteric LCs, cubic blue phases, achiral bent‐core LCs, etc.) and lyotropic LCs (DNA LCs, nanocellulose LCs, and graphene oxide LCs) is showcased. The review concludes with a perspective on the future scope, opportunities, and challenges in these truly advanced functional soft materials and their promising applications.

中文翻译：

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受自然启发的新兴手性液晶纳米结构：从分子自组装到 DNA 中间相和纳米胶体

液晶 (LC) 在生物体中无处不在，其手性在某些植物组织、螃蟹、甲虫、节肢动物等的角质层中是一种优雅而独特的特征。从大自然中汲取灵感，研究人员最近致力于开发具有自组织纳米结构的手性液晶材料，并探索其在从动态光子学到能源和安全问题等各个领域的潜在应用。在这篇综述中，提供了对新兴手性液晶纳米结构材料及其技术应用的最新技术的描述。首先，概述了手性液晶结构在各种生命系统中的重要性。然后，展示了不同手性液晶系统的最新进展，包括热致液晶（胆甾型液晶、立方蓝相、非手性弯曲核液晶等）和溶致液晶（DNA 液晶、纳米纤维素液晶和氧化石墨烯液晶）。该评论最后对这些真正先进的功能性软材料及其有前途的应用的未来范围、机遇和挑战进行了展望。