Electrotaxis of self-propelling artificial swimmers in microchannels

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that self-propelling artificial droplets can exhibit electrotaxis in microchannels, autonomously adjusting their trajectories under electric fields, with implications for micro-robotic applications in biotechnology.

Contribution

It introduces a hydrodynamic theory model explaining electrotactic behavior of synthetic microswimmers in microchannels, including trajectory transformations and upstream navigation.

Findings

Active droplets undergo U-turns under electric fields.

Droplets can navigate upstream against flow with electric field influence.

Trajectory changes are explained by a reverse Hopf bifurcation.

Abstract

Ciliated microswimmers and flagellated bacteria alter their swimming trajectories to follow the direction of an applied electric field exhibiting electrotaxis. Both for matters of application and physical modelling, it is instructive to study such behaviour in synthetic swimmers. We show here that under an external electric field, self-propelling active droplets autonomously modify their swimming trajectories in microchannels, even undergoing `U-turns', to exhibit robust electrotaxis. Depending on the relative initial orientations of the microswimmer and the external electric field, the active droplet can also navigate upstream of an external flow following a centre-line motion, instead of the oscillatory upstream trajectory observed in absence of electric field. Using a hydrodynamic theory model, we show that the electrically induced angular velocity and electrophoretic effects, along with the microswimmer motility and its hydrodynamic interactions with the microchannel walls, play crucial roles in dictating the electrotactic trajectories and dynamics. Specifically, the transformation in the trajectories during upstream swimming against an external flow under an electric field can be understood as a reverse Hopf bifurcation for a dynamical system. Our study provides a simple methodology and a systematic understanding of manoeuvring active droplets in microconfinements for micro-robotic applications especially in biotechnology.