Abstract
Cementitious materials deteriorate progressively with the formation of cracks that occur due to diverse physical, chemical, thermal, and biological processes. Numerous strategies have been adopted to obtain cement-based self-healing materials and determine the novel self-healing mechanisms. The uses of microbes have been established to improve the thickness of the healed crack and mechanical properties of the concrete, a phenomenon seldom addressed in the literature. Based on these factors, this article comprehensively appraises the smart bio-agents-based autonomous healing performance of concrete to demonstrate the recent progress, expected benefits, and ongoing challenges. The fundamentals, design strategies, and efficacy of the smart bio-agents-activated self-healing cementitious materials are the recurring themes of this overview. Furthermore, the effects of various processing parameters on the performance of cementitious self-healing smart bio-agents are discussed in-depth. The achievements, knowledge gaps, and needs for future research in this ever-evolving area for the sustainability and resilience of the built environment are highlighted.