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Microfluidics, the study of fluids in microscopic channels, has led to important advances in fields as diverse as microelectronics, biotechnology and chemistry. Microfluidic research is primarily based on the use of microfluidic chips,…
We first highlight theoretically a microfluidic configuration that allows to measure two fundamental parameters describing mass transport through a membrane: the solute permeability coefficient $\mathcal{L}_D$, and the associated reflection…
We investigate the process of biopolymer translocation through a narrow pore using a multiscale approach which explicitly accounts for the hydrodynamic interactions of the molecule with the surrounding solvent. The simulations confirm that…
Achieving macroscopic directed migration of microscale swimmers in a fluid is an important step towards utilizing their autonomous motion. It has been experimentally shown that directed motion can be induced, without any external fields, by…
Microfludic channels are now a well established platform for many purposes, including bio-medical research and Lab on a Chip applications. However, the nature of flow within these channels is still unclear. There is evidence that the mean…
Micro/nano-scale propulsion has attracted considerable recent attention due to its promise for biomedical applications such as targeted drug delivery. In this paper, we report on a new experimental design and theoretical modelling of…
An artificial microswimmer drifts in response to spatio-temporal modulations of an activating suspension medium. We consider two competing mechanisms capable of influencing its tactic response: angular fluctuations, which help it explore…
Ensembles of biological and artificial microswimmers produce long-range velocity fields with strong nonequilibrium fluctuations, which result in dramatic increase diffusivity of embedded particles (tracers). While such enhanced diffusivity…
Underwater flow sensing is critical for unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and environmental monitoring, yet existing sensors often suffer from low responsiveness, high detection thresholds, limited directional discrimination, complex…
Advancements in artificial active matter heavily rely on our ability to characterise their motion. Yet, the most widely used tool to analyse the latter is standard wide-field microscopy, which is largely limited to the study of…
We study the trajectories of a model microorganism inside three-dimensional channels with square and rectangular cross-sections. Using (i) numerical simulations based on lattice-Boltzmann method, and (ii) analytical expressions using…
We numerically investigate the motion of active artificial microswimmers diffusing in a fuel concentration gradient. We observe that, in the steady state, their probability density accumulates in the low-concentration regions, whereas a…
The ability to propel against flows, i.e., to perform positive rheotaxis, can provide exciting opportunities for applications in targeted therapeutics and non-invasive surgery. To date, no biocompatible technologies exist for navigating…
Contrasting the well explored problem on how to steer a macroscopic agent like an airplane or a moon lander to optimally reach a target, "optimal microswimming", i.e. the quest for the optimal navigation strategy for microswimmers, remains…
To explore and react to their environment, living micro-swimmers have developed sophisticated strategies for locomotion - in particular, motility with multiple gaits. To understand the physical principles associated with such a behavioural…
Both natural and artificial small-scale swimmers may often self-propel in environments subject to complex geometrical constraints. While most past theoretical work on low-Reynolds number locomotion addressed idealised geometrical…
Understanding the transport of driven nano- and micro-particles in complex fluids is of relevance for many biological and technological applications. Here we perform hydrodynamic multiparticle collision dynamics simulations of spherical and…
A remarkable variety of organisms use metachronal coordination (i.e., numerous neighboring appendages beating sequentially with a fixed phase lag) to swim or pump fluid. This coordination strategy is used by microorganisms to break symmetry…
Ciliated microswimmers and flagellated bacteria alter their swimming trajectories to follow the direction of an applied electric field exhibiting electrotaxis. Both for matters of application and physical modelling, it is instructive to…
The demonstrations of micro-robotic systems in minimally invasive medicine include an individual or a swarm of microswimmer of various origin, artificial or biohybrid, often with an external computer-controlled electromagnetic field. There…