Shape-programmed 3D printed swimming microtori for the transport of passive and active agents

Remmi Danae Baker (), Thomas Montenegro-Johnson (), Anton D. Sediako, Murray J. Thomson, Ayusman Sen (), Eric Lauga and Igor. S. Aranson ()
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Remmi Danae Baker: The Pennsylvania State University
Thomas Montenegro-Johnson: University of Birmingham
Anton D. Sediako: University of Toronto
Murray J. Thomson: University of Toronto
Ayusman Sen: The Pennsylvania State University
Eric Lauga: University of Cambridge
Igor. S. Aranson: The Pennsylvania State University

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Through billions of years of evolution, microorganisms mastered unique swimming behaviors to thrive in complex fluid environments. Limitations in nanofabrication have thus far hindered the ability to design and program synthetic swimmers with the same abilities. Here we encode multi-behavioral responses in microscopic self-propelled tori using nanoscale 3D printing. We show experimentally and theoretically that the tori continuously transition between two primary swimming modes in response to a magnetic field. The tori also manipulated and transported other artificial swimmers, bimetallic nanorods, as well as passive colloidal particles. In the first behavioral mode, the tori accumulated and transported nanorods; in the second mode, nanorods aligned along the toriʼs self-generated streamlines. Our results indicate that such shape-programmed microswimmers have a potential to manipulate biological active matter, e.g. bacteria or cells.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12904-0

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