Microswimmers in patterned environments

Volpe, Giovanni; Buttinoni, Ivo; Vogt, Dominik Walter; Kümmerer, Hans-Jürgen; Bechinger, Clemens

doi:10.1039/c1sm05960b

Cited by 512 publications

(631 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…While D R is in almost perfect agreement with the corresponding Stokes-Einstein value, D T is about 50% below the theoretical value. Such behavior is due to hydrodynamic interactions [22] with the wall and in good agreement with previous studies [20].…”

Section: E Simulation Parameterssupporting

confidence: 92%

External control strategies for self-propelled particles: Optimizing navigational efficiency in the presence of limited resources

et al. 2016

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We experimentally and numerically study the dependence of different navigation strategies regarding the effectivity of an active particle to reach a predefined target area. As the only control parameter, we vary the particle's propulsion velocity depending on its position and orientation relative to the target site. By introducing different figures of merit, e.g., the time to target or the total consumed propulsion energy, we are able to quantify and compare the efficiency of different strategies. Our results suggest that each strategy to navigate towards a target has its strengths and weaknesses, and none of them outperforms the other in all regards. Accordingly, the choice of an ideal navigation strategy will strongly depend on the specific conditions and the figure of merit which should be optimized.

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Section: E Simulation Parameterssupporting

confidence: 92%

External control strategies for self-propelled particles: Optimizing navigational efficiency in the presence of limited resources

et al. 2016

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“…The latter type of particles has recently been used for realizing self-propulsion (see, e.g., Refs. [88] and [89]). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alignment of cylindrical colloids near chemically patterned substrates induced by critical Casimir torques

et al. 2014

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Recent experiments have demonstrated a fluctuation-induced lateral trapping of spherical colloidal particles immersed in a binary liquid mixture near its critical demixing point and exposed to chemically patterned substrates. Inspired by these experiments, we study this kind of effective interaction, known as the critical Casimir effect, for elongated colloids of cylindrical shape. This adds orientational degrees of freedom. When the colloidal particles are close to a chemically structured substrate, a critical Casimir torque acting on the colloids emerges. We calculate this torque on the basis of the Derjaguin approximation. The range of validity of the latter is assessed via mean-field theory. This assessment shows that the Derjaguin approximation is reliable in experimentally relevant regimes, so that we extend it to Janus particles endowed with opposing adsorption preferences. Our analysis indicates that critical Casimir interactions are capable of achieving well-defined, reversible alignments both of chemically homogeneous and of Janus cylinders.

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“…18,19 The fact that motile cells have to navigate in complex environment (e.g. inside blood vessels or tissue) has inspired the studies of microswimmers moving through array of obstacles, 20 for the purpose of sorting and separation, 21 for rectication in ratchet-like channels or pumping uid. 22 This task is more complex for crawling cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling crawling cell movement on soft engineered substrates

2014

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Self-propelled motion, emerging spontaneously or in response to external cues, is a hallmark of living organisms. Systems of self-propelled synthetic particles are also relevant for multiple applications, from targeted drug delivery to the design of self-healing materials. Self-propulsion relies on the force transfer to the surrounding. While self-propelled swimming in the bulk of liquids is fairly well characterized, many open questions remain in our understanding of self-propelled motion along substrates, such as in the case of crawling cells or related biomimetic objects. How is the force transfer organized and how does it interplay with the deformability of the moving object and the substrate? How do the spatially dependent traction distribution and adhesion dynamics give rise to complex cell behavior? How can we engineer a specific cell response on synthetic compliant substrates? Here we generalize our recently developed model for a crawling cell by incorporating locally resolved traction forces and substrate deformations.The model captures the generic structure of the traction force distribution and faithfully reproduces experimental observations, like the response of a cell on a gradient in substrate elasticity (durotaxis). It also exhibits complex modes of cell movement such as "bipedal" motion. Our work may guide experiments on cell traction force microscopy and substrate-based cell sorting and can be helpful for the design of biomimetic "crawlers" and active and reconfigurable self-healing materials.

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Microswimmers in patterned environments

Cited by 512 publications

References 31 publications

External control strategies for self-propelled particles: Optimizing navigational efficiency in the presence of limited resources

External control strategies for self-propelled particles: Optimizing navigational efficiency in the presence of limited resources

Alignment of cylindrical colloids near chemically patterned substrates induced by critical Casimir torques

Modeling crawling cell movement on soft engineered substrates

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