Related papers: CO$_2$-driven diffusiophoresis for removal of bact…
We numerically examine solutal convection in porous media, driven by the dissolution of carbon dioxide (CO2) into water---an effective mechanism for CO2 storage in saline aquifers. Dissolution is associated with slow diffusion of free-phase…
Diffusiophoresis (DP) refers to the migration of particles driven by a solute concentration gradient in a liquid. Observations in the case of molecular neutral solutes are rather scarce, due to the low drift velocities in dilute solutions,…
We combine modeling and measurements to investigate the dynamics of convective carbon dioxide (CO$_2$) dissolution in a pressure-volume-temperature cell, extending a recent study by Wen et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 854, 2018, pp. 56--87) at…
We study colonies of non-motile, rod-shaped bacteria growing on solid substrates. In our model, bacteria interact purely mechanically, by pushing each other away as they grow, and consume a diffusing nutrient. We show that mechanical…
We study bacterial diffusion in disordered porous media. Interactions with obstacles, at unknown locations, make this problem challenging. We approach it by abstracting the environment to cell states with memoryless transitions. With this,…
Controlling bacterial surface adhesion and subsequent biofilm formation in fluid systems is crucial for the safety and efficacy of medical and industrial processes. Here, we theoretically examine the transport of bacteria close to surfaces,…
The large-scale collective behavior of biological systems can be characterized by macroscopic transport, which arises from the non-equilibrium microscopic interactions among individual constituents. A prominent example is the formation of…
Centrifugation is a widespread laboratory technique used to separate mixtures into fractions characterized by a specific size, weight or density. We demonstrate that centrifugation can be also used to separate swimming cells having…
Bacteria often traverse confined spaces to perform critical functions in symbiosis, infection, drug delivery, and soil bioremediation. While the canonical run-and-tumble strategy enables exploration, its reliance on constant sensing and…
Diffusion of species in icy dust grain mantles is a fundamental process that shapes the chemistry of interstellar regions; yet measurements of diffusion in interstellar ice analogs are scarce. Here we present measurements of CO diffusion…
Microorganisms are ubiquitous in nature and technology. They inhabit diverse environments ranging from small river tributaries and lakes to oceans, as well as wastewater treatment plants and food manufacturing. In many of these…
Disentangling the different stages of the star-formation process, in particular in the high-mass regime, is a challenge in astrophysics. Chemical clocks could help alleviating this problem, but their evolution strongly depends on many…
Observations by ISO and Spitzer towards young stellar objects (YSOs) showed that CO$_2$ segregates in the icy mantles covering dust grains. Thermal processing of ice mixture was proposed as responsible for the segregation. Although several…
The role of activity on the hydrodynamic dispersion of bacteria in a model porous medium is studied by tracking thousands of bacteria in a microfluidic chip containing randomly placed pillars. We first evaluate the spreading dynamics of two…
The CO-to-H$_2$ conversion factor ($\alpha_\mathrm{CO}$) is expected to vary with dust abundance and grain size distribution through the efficiency of shielding gas from CO-dissociation radiation. We present a comprehensive analysis of…
In natural environments, solid surfaces present both opportunities and challenges for bacteria. On one hand, they serve as platforms for biofilm formation, crucial for bacterial colonization and resilience in harsh conditions. On the other…
Diverse processes--e.g. bioremediation, biofertilization, and microbial drug delivery--rely on bacterial migration in disordered, three-dimensional (3D) porous media. However, how pore-scale confinement alters bacterial motility is unknown…
We demonstrate 'differential dynamic microscopy' (DDM) for the fast, high throughput characterization of the dynamics of active particles. Specifically, we characterize the swimming speed distribution and the fraction of motile cells in…
Understanding how colloids move in crowded environments is key for gaining control over their transport in applications such as drug delivery, filtration, contaminant/microplastic remediation and agriculture. The classical models of colloid…
A model for the aerobic and anaerobic growth of Escherichia coli (HB101 K12 pGLO) depending on the concentration of oxygen and DOC as substrate has been developed based on laboratory batch experiments. Using inverse modelling to obtain…