Related papers: Bacteria driving droplets
Droplet microfluidics, in which micro-droplets serve as individual reactors, has enabled a wide range of high-throughput biochemical processes. Unlike solid wells typically used in current biochemical assays, droplets are subject to…
We examine theoretically the spreading of a viscous liquid drop over a thin film of uniform thickness, assuming the liquid's viscosity is regulated by the concentration of a solute that is carried passively by the spreading flow. The solute…
Bacterial assemblies exhibit rich collective behaviors that control their biological functions, making them a relevant object of study from an active matter physics perspective. Dense bacterial suspensions self-organize into distinct…
The mechanism of propulsion of host bacteria under the action of actin gel networks is examined by means of a continuum model of the dynamics of F-actin concentration. The model includes the elasticity of the network, its attachment to the…
We report an experimental study on the manipulation of colloidal particles in a drop sitting on a hydrogel. The manipulation is achieved by diffusiophoresis, which describes a directed motion of particles induced by solute gradients. By…
We consider active Brownian particles that intermittently switch between active and inactive states. Such behavior is ubiquitous at all scales, from bacteria to animals and in artificial active systems. We derive exact expressions for key…
Using Molecular Dynamics simulations of a coarse-grained polymer liquid we investigate the transport of droplets on asymmetrically structured (saw-tooth shaped), vibrating substrates. Due to a continuous supply of power by substrate…
Brownian motion is the perpetual irregular motion exhibited by small particles immersed in a fluid. Such random motion of the particles is produced by statistical fluctuations in the collisions they suffer with the molecules of the…
Suspensions of self-propelled objects represent a novel paradigm in colloidal science. In such active baths traditional concepts, such as Brownian motion, fluctuation-dissipation relations, and work extraction from heat reservoirs, must be…
We study dynamics of a classical particle in a one-dimensional potential, which is composed of two periodic components, that are time-independent, have equal amplitudes and periodicities. One of them is externally driven by a random force…
Motivated by strategies for targeted microfluidic transport of droplets, we investigate how sessile droplets can be steered toward a preferred direction using travelling waves in substrate wettability or deformations of the substrate. To…
The field of active matter explores the behaviors of self propelled agents out of equilibrium, with active suspensions, such as swimming bacteria in solutions, serving as impactful models. These systems exhibit spatio-temporal patterns akin…
Complex or hostile environments can sometimes inhibit the movement capabilities of diffusive particles or active swimmers, who may thus become stuck in fixed positions. This occurs, for example, in the adhesion of bacteria to surfaces at…
The run-and-tumble (RT) dynamics followed by bacterial swimmers gives rise first to a ballistic motion due to their persistence, and later, through consecutive tumbles, to a diffusive process. Here we investigate how long it takes for a…
The movement of motor particles consisting of one or several molecular motors bound to a cargo particle is studied theoretically. The particles move on patterns of immobilized filaments. Several patterns are described for which the motor…
The flow of deformable particles, such as droplets, dragged by a fluid, through a network of narrow pores inside rocks or other porous media is key in a range of applications, from enhanced oil recovery and water filtration to lab on a chip…
Microfluidic techniques have been extensively developed to realize micro-total analysis systems in a small chip. For microanalysis, electro-magnetic forces have generally been utilized for the trapping of objects, but hydrodynamics has been…
Microbiology is the science of microbes, particularly bacteria. Many bacteria are motile: they are capable of self-propulsion. Among these, a significant class execute so-called run-and-tumble motion: they follow a fairly straight path for…
The bacterial flagellar motor is a highly efficient rotary machine used by many bacteria to propel themselves. It has recently been shown that at low speeds its rotation proceeds in steps [Sowa et al. (2005) Nature 437, 916--919]. Here we…
Bacteria on surfaces exhibit collective behaviors, such as active turbulence and active stresses, which result from their motility, growth, and interactions with their local surroundings. However, interfacial deformations on soft surfaces…