Scattering of biflagellate microswimmers from surfaces

TL;DR

This study models biflagellate microswimmers near surfaces, revealing how geometry, hydrodynamics, and noise influence their scattering and trapping behaviors, emphasizing the importance of shape asymmetry in minimal models.

Contribution

It introduces a three-bead-spring model that captures the complex interplay of factors affecting biflagellate swimmer-surface interactions, highlighting the role of shape asymmetry.

Findings

Surface trapping depends on incident angle.

Flagellar noise and spinning facilitate escape.

Shape asymmetry is crucial in modeling dynamics.

Abstract

We use a three-bead-spring model to investigate the dynamics of bi-flagellate micro-swimmers near a surface. While the primary dynamics and scattering are governed by geometric-dependent direct contact, the fluid flows generated by the swimmer locomotion are important in orienting it toward or away from the surface. Flagellar noise and in particular cell spinning about the main axis help a surface-trapped swimmer escape, whereas the time a swimmer spends at the surface depends on the incident angle. The dynamics results from a nuanced interplay of direct collisions, hydrodynamics, noise and the swimmer geometry. We show that to correctly capture the dynamics of a biflagellate swimmer, minimal models need to resolve the shape asymmetry.