Cell apical constriction driven by actomyosin contraction forces is a conserved mechanism during tissue folding in embryo development. While much is now understood of the molecular mechanism responsible for apical constriction and of the tissue-scale integration of the ensuing in-plane deformations, it is still not clear if apical actomyosin contraction forces are necessary or sufficient per se to drive tissue folding. To tackle this question, we use the Drosophila embryo model system that forms a furrow on the ventral side, initiating mesoderm internalization. Past computational models support the idea that cell apical contraction forces may not be sufficient and that active or passive cell apico-basal forces may be necessary to drive cell wedging leading to tissue furrowing. By using 3D computational modelling and in toto embryo image analysis and manipulation, we now challenge this idea and show that embryo-scale force balance at the tissue surface, rather than cell-autonomous shape changes, is necessary and sufficient to drive a buckling of the epithelial surface forming a furrow which propagates and initiates embryo gastrulation.

Acoustic micropropulsors present great potential for microfluidic applications. The propulsion is based on encapsulated 20 μm bubbles excited by a contacless ultrasonic transducer. The vibrating bubbles then generate a powerful streaming flow, with speeds 1–100 mm s⁻¹ in water, through the action of viscous stresses. In this paper we introduce a full toolbox of micropropulsors using a versatile three-dimensional (3D) microfabrication setup. Doublets and triplets of propulsors are introduced, and the flows they generate are predicted by a theoretical hydrodynamic model. We then introduce whole surfaces covered with propulsors, which we term active surfaces. These surfaces are excited by a single ultrasonic wave, can generate collective flows and may be harnessed for mixing purposes. Several patterns of propulsors are tested, and the flows produced by the two most efficient mixers are predicted by a simple theoretical model based on flow singularities. In particular, the vortices generated by the most efficient pattern, an L-shaped mixer, are analysed in detail.

We introduce cubic bubbles that are pinned to 3D printed millimetric frames immersed in water. Cubic bubbles are more stable over time and space than standard spherical bubbles, while still allowing large oscillations of their faces. We find that each face can be described as a harmonic oscillator coupled to the other ones. These resonators are coupled by the gas inside the cube but also by acoustic interactions in the liquid. We provide an analytical model and 3D numerical simulations predicting the resonance with very good agreement. Acoustically, cubic bubbles prove to be good monopole subwavelength emitters, with nonemissive secondary surface modes.

Equations are derived that describe the growth and subsequent damped oscillation of a cavitation bubble in a liquid-filled cavity surrounded by an elastic solid. It is assumed that the nucleation and the growth of the bubble are caused by an initial negative pressure in the cavity. The liquid is treated as viscous and compressible. The obtained equations allow one to model, by numerical computation, the growth and the oscillation of the bubble in the cavity and the oscillation of the cavity surface. It is shown that the equilibrium radius reached by the growing bubble decreases when the absolute magnitude of the initial negative pressure decreases. It is also found that the natural frequency of the bubble oscillation increases with increasing bubble radius. This result is of special interest because in an unbounded liquid, the natural frequency of a bubble is known to behave oppositely, namely it decreases with increasing bubble radius.

Spherical bubbles are difficult to hold in specific arrangements and tend to dissolve in water over time. Using 3D-fabricated cubic frames we trap and stabilize bubbles that still oscillate under acoustic excitation.

Underwater bubbles are extremely good acoustic resonators, but are freely evolving and dissolving. Recently it was found that bubbles can be stabilized in frames, but the influence of the frame shape is still undocumented. Here we first explore the vibration of polyhedral bubbles with a low number of faces, shaped as the five Platonic solids. Their resonance frequency is well approximated by the formula for spherical bubbles with the same volume. Then we extend these results to shapes with a larger number of faces using fullerenes, paving the way to obtain arbitrary large resonant bubbles.