Remote control of self-assembled microswimmers

G. Grosjean, G. Lagubeau, A. Darras, M. Hubert, G. Lumay, N. Vandewalle*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

54 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Physics governing the locomotion of microorganisms and other microsystems is dominated by viscous damping. An effective swimming strategy involves the non-reciprocal and periodic deformations of the considered body. Here, we show that a magnetocapillary-driven self-assembly, composed of three soft ferromagnetic beads, is able to swim along a liquid-air interface when powered by an external magnetic field. More importantly, we demonstrate that trajectories can be fully controlled, opening ways to explore low Reynolds number swimming. This magnetocapillary system spontaneously forms by self-assembly, allowing miniaturization and other possible applications such as cargo transport or solvent flows.

Original languageEnglish
Article number16035
JournalScientific Reports
Volume5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Nov 2015

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Remote control of self-assembled microswimmers'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this