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The accumulation of self-propelled particles on repulsive barriers is a widely observed feature in active matter. Despite being implicated in a broad range of biological processes, from biofilm formation to cytoskeletal movement, wetting of…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2025-12-12 Noah Grodzinski , Michael E. Cates , Robert L. Jack

How systems are endowed with migration capacity is a fascinating question with implications ranging from the design of novel active systems to the control of microbial populations. Bacteria, which can be found in a variety of environments,…

Biological Physics · Physics 2017-07-03 Marc Hennes , Julien Tailleur , Gaëlle Charron , Adrian Daerr

Living systems must maintain robust biochemical function despite fluctuations that span a wide range of timescales. Biomolecular condensates formed by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) have been shown to buffer concentration…

Biological Physics · Physics 2025-10-24 Logan de Monchaux-Irons , T-Y Dora Tang , Christoph A. Weber , Thomas C. T. Michaels

A partially miscible binary liquid mixture, composed of A and B particles, is considered theoretically under conditions for which a stable A-rich liquid phase is in thermal equilibrium with the vapor phase. The B-rich liquid is metastable.…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2021-04-28 Hyojeong Kim , Lothar Schimmele , S. Dietrich

We study the partitioning of motile bacteria in an aqueous two-phase mixture of dextran (DEX) and polyethylene glycol (PEG), which can phase separate into DEX-rich and PEG-rich phases. While non-motile bacteria partition exclusively into…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2024-12-23 Jiyong Cheon , Kyu Hwan Choi , Kevin J. Modica , Robert J. Mitchell , Sho C. Takatori , Joonwoo Jeong

Dry active matter systems are well-known to exhibit Motility-Induced Phase Separation (MIPS). However, in wet active systems, attractive hydrodynamic interactions mediated by active particles stalled at a boundary can introduce…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2026-01-01 Kingshuk Panja , Rajesh Singh

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,…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2025-07-08 Edwina F. Yeo , Benjamin J. Walker , Philip Pearce , Mohit P. Dalwadi

A combination of cellular contractility and active phase separation in cell-matrix composites is thought to be an enabler of spatiotemporal patterning in multicellular tissues across scales, from somitogenesis to cartilage condensation. To…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2022-11-21 Sifan Yin , L Mahadevan

We investigate how an active bath of enzymes influences the liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of a non-interacting condensing protein. The enzyme we choose to use as the active driver is urease, an enzyme that has been shown by several…

Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) involving intrinsically disordered protein regions (IDRs) is a major physical mechanism for biological membraneless compartmentalization. The multifaceted electrostatic effects in these biomolecular…

Biological membranes are self-assembled complex fluid interfaces that host proteins, molecular motors and other macromolecules essential for cellular function. These membranes have a distinct in-plane fluid response with a surface viscosity…

Fluid Dynamics · Physics 2023-06-21 Vishnu Vig , Harishankar Manikantan

Real-life bacteria often swim in complex fluids, but our understanding of the interactions between bacteria and complex surroundings is still evolving. In this work, rod-like \textit{Bacillus subtilis} swims in a quasi-2D environment with…

We present a generic mechanism by which reproducing microorganisms, with a diffusivity that depends on the local population density, can form stable patterns. It is known that a decrease of swimming speed with density can promote separation…

Populations and Evolution · Quantitative Biology 2010-07-13 M. E. Cates , D. Marenduzzo , I. Pagonabarraga , J. Tailleur

We consider a model fluid with long-ranged, dispersion interparticle potentials confined between competing parallel walls. One wall is solvophilic and would be completely wet at bulk liquid-gas coexistence while the other is solvophobic and…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2015-06-05 M. C. Stewart , R. Evans

We use a continuum model to examine the effect of activity on a phase separating mixture of an extensile active nematic and a passive fluid. We highlight the distinct role of previously considered interfacial active stresses and bulk active…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2022-12-26 Fernando Caballero , M. Cristina Marchetti

Biomolecules, such as proteins and RNAs, can phase separate in the cytoplasm of cells to form biomolecular condensates. Such condensates are liquid-like droplets that can wet biological surfaces such as membranes. Many molecules that…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2024-09-04 Xueping Zhao , Susanne Liese , Alf Honigmann , Frank Jülicher , Christoph A. Weber

Using a density functional based interface displacement model we determine the effective interaction potential between two spherical particles which are immersed in a homogeneous fluid such as the vapor phase of a one-component substance or…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2009-10-31 C. Bauer , T. Bieker , S. Dietrich

Through Monte Carlo simulations and the Associating Lattice Gas Model, the phases of a two-dimensional fluid under hydrophilic confinement are evaluated. The model, in its unconfined version, reproduces the anomalous behavior of water…

Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is important to control a wide range of reactions from gene expression to protein degradation in a cell-sized space. To bring a better understanding of the compatibility of such phase-separated…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2021-10-01 Shuzo Kato , David Garenne , Vincent Noireaux , Yusuke T. Maeda

Near-field hydrodynamic interactions between bacteria and no-slip solid surfaces are the main mechanism underlying surface entrapment of bacteria. In this study, we employ a chiral two-body model to simulate bacterial dynamics near the…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2026-02-25 Baopi Liu , Lu Chen , Haiqin Wang