Gravitaxis of asymmetric self-propelled colloidal particles

ten Hagen, Borge; Kümmel, Felix; Wittkowski, Raphael; Takagi, Daisuke; Löwen, Hartmut; Bechinger, Clemens

Gravitaxis of asymmetric self-propelled colloidal particles

Files

tenHagen_0-411208.pdf(569.07 KB)

Date

2014

Authors

ten Hagen, Borge

Kümmel, Felix

Wittkowski, Raphael

Takagi, Daisuke

Löwen, Hartmut

Bechinger, Clemens

Publication type

Journal article

Publication status

Published

Published in

Nature Communications ; 5 (2014). - 4829. - eISSN 2041-1723

Abstract

Many motile microorganisms adjust their swimming motion relative to the gravitational field and thus counteract sedimentation to the ground. This gravitactic behavior is often the result of an inhomogeneous mass distribution which aligns the microorganism similar to a buoy. However, it has been suggested that gravitaxis can also result from a geometric fore-rear asymmetry, typical for many self-propelling organisms. Despite several attempts, no conclusive evidence for such an asymmetry-induced gravitactic motion exists. Here, we study the motion of asymmetric self-propelled colloidal particles which have a homogeneous mass density and a well-defined shape. In experiments and by theoretical modeling we demonstrate that a shape anisotropy alone is sufficient to induce gravitactic motion with either preferential upward or downward swimming. In addition, also trochoid-like trajectories transversal to the direction of gravity are observed.

Subject (DDC)

530 Physics

Cite This

ISO 690

TEN HAGEN, Borge, Felix KÜMMEL, Raphael WITTKOWSKI, Daisuke TAKAGI, Hartmut LÖWEN, Clemens BECHINGER, 2014. Gravitaxis of asymmetric self-propelled colloidal particles. In: Nature Communications. 5, 4829. eISSN 2041-1723. Available under: doi: 10.1038/ncomms5829

BibTex

@article{tenHagen2014-09-24T10:15:02ZGravi-39276,
  year={2014},
  doi={10.1038/ncomms5829},
  title={Gravitaxis of asymmetric self-propelled colloidal particles},
  volume={5},
  journal={Nature Communications},
  author={ten Hagen, Borge and Kümmel, Felix and Wittkowski, Raphael and Takagi, Daisuke and Löwen, Hartmut and Bechinger, Clemens},
  note={Article Number: 4829}
}

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