Title

Active colloids in complex fluids

Author(s)/Creator(s)

Alison E. Patteson, University of PennsylvaniaFollow
Arvind Gopinath, University of California, Merced
Paulo E. Arratia, University of Pennsylvania

ORCID

Alison E. Patteson: 0000-0002-4004-1734

Document Type

Article

Date

Winter 2-1-2016

Keywords

Colloids, Active matter, Complex fluids, Bacterial suspensions, Self-propulsion

Language

English

Funder(s)

National Science Foundation

Funding ID

NSF-CBET-1437482 and NSF DMR- 1104705

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge funding from NSF-CBET-1437482 and NSF DMR-

1104705.

Official Citation

Patteson, A. E., Gopinath, A., & Arratia, P. E. (2016). Active colloids in complex fluids. Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science, 21, 86–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cocis.2016.01.001

Disciplines

Physics

Description/Abstract

We review recent work on active colloids or swimmers, such as self-propelled microorganisms, phoretic colloidal particles, and artificial micro-robotic systems, moving in fluid-like environments. These environments can be water-like and Newtonian but can frequently contain macromolecules, flexible polymers, soft cells, or hard particles, which impart complex, nonlinear rheological features to the fluid. While significant progress has been made on understanding how active colloids move and interact in Newtonian fluids, little is known on how active colloids behave in complex and non-Newtonian fluids. An emerging literature is starting to show how fluid rheology can dramatically change the gaits and speeds of individual swimmers. Simultaneously, a moving swimmer induces time dependent, three dimensional fluid flows that can modify the medium (fluid) rheological properties. This two-way, non-linear coupling at microscopic scales has profound implications at meso- and macro-scales: steady state suspension properties, emergent collective behavior, and transport of passive tracer particles. Recent exciting theoretical results and current debate on quantifying these complex active fluids highlight the need for conceptually simple experiments to guide our understanding.

Recommended Citation

Patteson, A. E., Gopinath, A., & Arratia, P. E. (2016). Active colloids in complex fluids. Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science, 21, 86–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cocis.2016.01.001

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.