Helical bacteria, like the stomach pathogen H. pylori , swim only about 15% faster than their isogenic rod-shaped mutants.

Dispersion relations govern wave behaviors, and tailoring them is a grand challenge in wave manipulation. We demonstrate the inverse design of phononic dispersion using nonlocal interactions on one-dimensional spring-mass chains. For both single-band and double-band cases, we can achieve any valid dispersion curves with analytical precision. We further employ our method to design phononic crystals with multiple ordinary (roton or maxon) and higher-order (undulation) critical points and investigate their wave packet dynamics.

The realization of reconfigurable modular microrobots could aid drug delivery and microsurgery by allowing a single system to navigate diverse environments and perform multiple tasks. So far, microrobotic systems are limited by insufficient versatility; for instance, helical shapes commonly used for magnetic swimmers cannot effectively assemble and disassemble into different size and shapes. Here by using microswimmers with simple geometries constructed of spherical particles, we show how magnetohydrodynamics can be used to assemble and disassemble modular microrobots with different physical characteristics. We develop a mechanistic physical model that we use to improve assembly strategies. Furthermore, we experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of dynamically changing the physical properties of microswimmers through assembly and disassembly in a controlled fluidic environment. Finally, we show that different configurations have different swimming properties by examining swimming speed dependence on configuration size.

Microscale propulsion impacts a diverse array of fields ranging from biology and ecology to health applications, such as infection, fertility, drug delivery, and microsurgery. However, propulsion in such viscous drag-dominated fluid environments is highly constrained, with time-reversal and geometric symmetries ruling out entire classes of propulsion. Here, we report the spontaneous symmetry-breaking propulsion of rotating spherical microparticles within non-Newtonian fluids. While symmetry analysis suggests that propulsion is not possible along the fore-aft directions, we demonstrate the existence of two equal and opposite propulsion states along the sphere’s rotation axis. We propose and experimentally corroborate a propulsion mechanism for these spherical microparticles, the simplest microswimmers to date, arising from nonlinear viscoelastic effects in rotating flows similar to the rod-climbing effect. Similar possibilities of spontaneous symmetry-breaking could be used to circumvent other restrictions on propulsion, revising notions of microrobotic design and control, drug delivery, microscale pumping, and locomotion of microorganisms.

Dynamical bending, buckling, and polymorphic transformations of the flagellum are known to affect bacterial motility, but run-reverse-flick motility of monotrichous bacteria also involves the even more flexible hook connecting the flagellum to its rotary motor. Although flick initiation has been hypothesized to involve either static Euler buckling or dynamic bending of the hook, the precise mechanism of flick initiation remains unknown. Here, we find that flicks initiate via a dynamic instability requiring flexibility in both the hook and flagellum. We obtain accurate estimates of forces and torques on the hook that suggest that flicks occur for stresses below the (static) Euler buckling criterion, then provide a mechanistic model for flick initiation that requires combined bending of the hook and flagellum. We calculate the triggering torque-stiffness ratio and find that our predicted onset of dynamic instability corresponds well with experimental observations.

Microorganisms must approach other suspended organisms or particles in order to interact with them during a host of life processes including feeding and mating. Microorganisms live at low Reynolds number where viscosity dominates and strongly affects the hydrodynamics of swimmer and nearby cells and objects. Viscous hydrodynamics makes it difficult for two surfaces to approach closely at low Reynolds numbers. Nonetheless, it is observed that microorganisms in fluid are still able to approach closely enough to interact with each other or suspended particles. Here, we study how the physical constraints provided by viscous hydrodynamics affects the feasibility of direct approach of flagellated and ciliated microorganisms to targets of different sizes. We find that it is feasible for singly flagellated swimmers to approach targets that are the same size or bigger. On the other hand, for squirmers, the feasibility of approach depends on near-field flows that can be controlled by the details of their swimming strokes.