Related papers: Colloidal Micromotors: Controlled Directed Motion
Like their larger micron-scale counterparts, {\AA}ngstr\"om-scale chemically self-propelled motors use asymmetric catalytic activity to produce self-generated concentration gradients that lead to directed motion. Unlike their micron-scale…
Magnetic nano/microrotors are passive elements that spin around an axis due to an external rotating field while remaining confined to a close plane. They have been used to date in different applications related to fluid mixing, drug…
Natural cilia are hair-like microtubule-based structures that are able to move fluid at low Reynolds number through asymmetric motion. In this paper we follow a biomimetic approach to design artificial cilia lining the inner surface of…
A scheme for controlling the direction of energetic proton beam driven by intense laser pulse is proposed. Simulations show that a precisely directed and collimated proton bunch can be produced by a sub-picosecond laser pulse interacting…
Magnetically assembled superparamagnetic colloids have been exploited as fluid mixers, swimmers and delivery systems in several microscale applications. The encapsulation of such colloids in droplets may open new opportunities to build…
Catalytically active particles suspended in a liquid can move due to self-phoresis by generating solute gradients via chemical reactions of the solvent occurring at parts of their surface. Such particles can be used as carriers at the…
Microengines have shown promise for a variety of applications in nanotechnology, microfluidics and nanomedicine, including targeted drug delivery, microscale pumping, and environmental remediation. However, achieving precise control over…
We investigate the directional locking effects that arise when a monolayer of paramagnetic colloidal particles is driven across a triangular lattice of magnetic bubbles. We use an external rotating magnetic field to generate a two…
We outline a basic strategy of how self-propulsion can be used to improve the yield of a typical colloidal self-assembly process. The success of this approach is predicated on the thoughtful design of the colloidal building block as well as…
Periodically driven systems can lead to a directed motion of particles. We investigate this ratchet effect for a bosonic Mott insulator where both a staggered hopping and a staggered local potential vary periodically in time. If driving…
Catalysis-driven synthetic molecular motors operate in a loose mechanochemical coupling regime, one in which a decomposition of a fuel molecule does not reliably produce a forward step. In that regime, stochastic backward steps can…
In systems possessing spatial or dynamical symmetry breaking, Brownian motion combined with symmetric external input signals, deterministic or random, alike, can assist directed motion of particles at the submicron scales. In such cases,…
Simulations can help unravel the complicated ways in which molecular structure determines function. Here, we use molecular simulations to show how slight alterations of a molecular motor's structure can cause the motor's typical dynamical…
We propose a scheme for producing directed motion in a lattice system by applying a periodic driving potential. By controlling the dynamics by means of the effect known as coherent destruction of tunneling, we demonstrate a novel…
Enhanced colloidal transport beyond the limit imposed by diffusion is usually achieved through external fields. Here, we demonstrate the ballistic transport of a colloidal sphere using internal sources of energy provided by an attached…
We demonstrate a general method to assemble and propel highly maneuverable colloidal carpets which can be steered via remote control in any direction of the plane. These colloidal micropropellers are composed by an ensemble of spinning…
In many biological systems localized mechanical information is transmitted by mechanically neutral chemical signals. Typical examples include contraction waves in acto-myosin cortex at cellular scale and peristaltic waves at tissue level.…
Here, we report on a new class active particles capable of dynamically programmable motion powered by electricity. We have implemented physical principles that separate the propulsion and steering mechanisms of active motion using optically…
In living cells, molecular motors create activity that enhances the diffusion of particles throughout the cytoplasm, and not just ones attached to the motors. We demonstrate initial steps toward creating artificial cells that mimic this…
Shapiro steps are quantized plateaus in the velocity-force or velocity-torque curve of a driven system, when its speed remains constant despite an increase in the driving force. For microscopic particles driven across a sinusoidal…