The slippery peristome of the pitcher plant Nepenthes has attracted much attention due to its unique function for preying on insects. Recent findings on the peristome surface of Nepenthes alata demonstrate a fast and continuous unidirectional liquid transport, which is enabled by the combination of a pinning effect at the sharp edges and a capillary rise in the wedge, deriving from the multiscale structure, which provides inspiration for designing and fabricating functional surfaces for unidirectional liquid transport. Developments in the fabrication methods of peristome‐inspired surfaces and control methods for liquid transport are summarized. Both potential applications in the fields of microfluidic devices, biomedicine, and mechanical engineering and directions for further research in the future are discussed.

A novel unidirectional liquid spreading surface with an inclined arc pitted groove, inspired by the continuous unidirectional liquid spreading mechanism on the peristome surface of N. alata, is explored and fabricated by two‐step UV lithography. Its superior unidirectional liquid spreading capability to that of other surface patterns is demonstrated, and its unidirectional liquid spreading mechanism is investigated.

Uni-directional liquid spreading without energy input has gained much attention due to its potential application in various areas such as microfluidic devices and energy fields. Recently, continuous uni-directional liquid spreading with fast speed was discovered on the peristome of Nepenthes alata, which possesses superhydrophilic hierarchical microgrooves and duck-billed microcavities with arc-shaped edges and gradient wedge corners. Inspired by the surface structure of the peristome, a novel bio-inspired uni-directional liquid spreading surface with various arc curvatures and wedge angles was built via two-step inclined UV exposure photolithography. The effects of the surface wettability and structural features, i.e. the arc-shaped outlines and wedge corners of microcavities, on the anisotropy of liquid spreading were investigated. The underlying mechanisms were made clear by comparing the effects of surface wettability and structural features of microcavities on both liquid spreading ability and liquid pinning ability. Finally, the controlling of anisotropic liquid spreading and thorough uni-directional liquid spreading were realized. This study provides inspiration to design novel uni-directional liquid spreading surfaces without energy input, and can further expand their application in areas such as non-powered delivery systems, microfluidic devices and self-lubrication in mechanical engineering.

Bioprinting is a powerful technology with the potential to transform medical device manufacturing, organ replacement, and the treatment of diseases and physiologic malformations. However, current bioprinters are unable to reliably print the fundamental unit of all living things, single cells. A high‐definition single‐cell printing, a novel microfluidic technology, is presented here that can accurately print single cells from a mixture of multiple candidates. The bioprinter employs a highly miniaturized microfluidic sorter to deterministically select single cells of interest for printing, achieving an accuracy of ≈10 µm and speed of ≈100 Hz. This approach is demonstrated by fabricating intricate cell patterns with pre‐defined features through selective single‐cell printing. The approach is used to synthesize well‐defined spheroids with controlled composition and morphology. The speed, accuracy, and flexibility of the approach will advance bioprinting to enable new studies in organoid science, tissue engineering, and spatially targeted cell therapies.