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Ussia M, Urso M, Oral CM, Peng X, Pumera M. Magnetic Microrobot Swarms with Polymeric Hands Catching Bacteria and Microplastics in Water. ACS NANO 2024; 18:13171-13183. [PMID: 38717036 PMCID: PMC11112980 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c02115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
The forefront of micro- and nanorobot research involves the development of smart swimming micromachines emulating the complexity of natural systems, such as the swarming and collective behaviors typically observed in animals and microorganisms, for efficient task execution. This study introduces magnetically controlled microrobots that possess polymeric sequestrant "hands" decorating a magnetic core. Under the influence of external magnetic fields, the functionalized magnetic beads dynamically self-assemble from individual microparticles into well-defined rotating planes of diverse dimensions, allowing modulation of their propulsion speed, and exhibiting a collective motion. These mobile microrobotic swarms can actively capture free-swimming bacteria and dispersed microplastics "on-the-fly", thereby cleaning aquatic environments. Unlike conventional methods, these microrobots can be collected from the complex media and can release the captured contaminants in a second vessel in a controllable manner, that is, using ultrasound, offering a sustainable solution for repeated use in decontamination processes. Additionally, the residual water is subjected to UV irradiation to eliminate any remaining bacteria, providing a comprehensive cleaning solution. In summary, this study shows a swarming microrobot design for water decontamination processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Ussia
- Future
Energy and Innovation Laboratory, Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 123, Brno 61200, Czech Republic
| | - Mario Urso
- Future
Energy and Innovation Laboratory, Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 123, Brno 61200, Czech Republic
| | - Cagatay M. Oral
- Future
Energy and Innovation Laboratory, Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 123, Brno 61200, Czech Republic
| | - Xia Peng
- Future
Energy and Innovation Laboratory, Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 123, Brno 61200, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Pumera
- Future
Energy and Innovation Laboratory, Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 123, Brno 61200, Czech Republic
- Advanced
Nanorobots & Multiscale Robotics Laboratory, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, VSB - Technical
University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, Ostrava 70800, Czech Republic
- Department
of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Hsueh-Shih Road 91, Taichung 40402, Taiwan
- Department
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Yonsei University, Yonsei-ro
50, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
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2
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Singh AK, Banerjee V. Phase separation of a magnetic fluid: Asymptotic states and nonequilibrium kinetics. Phys Rev E 2023; 108:064604. [PMID: 38243485 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.108.064604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
We study self-assembly in a colloidal suspension of magnetic particles by performing comprehensive molecular dynamics simulations of the Stockmayer (SM) model, which comprises spherical particles decorated by a magnetic moment. The SM potential incorporates dipole-dipole interactions along with the usual Lennard-Jones interaction and exhibits a gas-liquid phase coexistence observed experimentally in magnetic fluids. When this system is quenched from the high-temperature homogeneous phase to the coexistence region, the nonequilibrium evolution to the condensed phase proceeds with the development of spatial as well as magnetic order. We observe density-dependent coarsening mechanisms-a diffusive growth law ℓ(t)∼t^{1/3} in the nucleation regime and hydrodynamics-driven inertial growth law ℓ(t)∼t^{2/3} in the spinodal regimes. [ℓ(t) is the average size of the condensate at time t after the quench.] While the spatial growth is governed by the expected conserved order parameter dynamics, the growth of magnetic order in the spinodal regime exhibits unexpected nonconserved dynamics. The asymptotic morphologies have density-dependent shapes which typically include the isotropic sphere and spherical bubble morphologies in the nucleation region, and the anisotropic cylinder, planar slab, cylindrical bubble morphologies in the spinodal region. The structures are robust and nonvolatile, and exhibit characteristic magnetic properties. For example, the oppositely magnetized hemispheres in the spherical morphology impart the characteristics of a Janus particle to it. The observed structures have versatile applications in catalysis, drug delivery systems, memory devices, and magnetic photonic crystals, to name a few.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anuj Kumar Singh
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India
| | - Varsha Banerjee
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India
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3
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Zbonikowski R, Iwan M, Paczesny J. Stimuli-Responsive Langmuir Films Composed of Nanoparticles Decorated with Poly( N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM) at the Air/Water Interface. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:23706-23719. [PMID: 37426285 PMCID: PMC10323952 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c01862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
The nanotechnology shift from static toward stimuli-responsive systems is gaining momentum. We study adaptive and responsive Langmuir films at the air/water interface to facilitate the creation of two-dimensional (2D) complex systems. We verify the possibility of controlling the assembly of relatively large entities, i.e., nanoparticles with diameter around 90 nm, by inducing conformational changes within an about 5 nm poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM) capping layer. The system performs reversible switching between uniform and nonuniform states. The densely packed and uniform state is observed at a higher temperature, i.e., opposite to most phase transitions, where more ordered phases appear at lower temperatures. The induced nanoparticles' conformational changes result in different properties of the interfacial monolayer, including various types of aggregation. The analysis of surface pressure at different temperatures and upon temperature changes, surface potential measurements, surface rheology experiments, Brewster angle microscopy (BAM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations are accompanied by calculations to discuss the principles of the nanoparticles' self-assembly. Those findings provide guidelines for designing other adaptive 2D systems, such as programable membranes or optical interfacial devices.
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4
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Herranz M, Pedrosa C, Martínez-Fernández D, Foteinopoulou K, Karayiannis NC, Laso M. Fine-tuning of colloidal polymer crystals by molecular simulation. Phys Rev E 2023; 107:064605. [PMID: 37464607 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.107.064605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
Through extensive molecular simulations we determine a phase diagram of attractive, fully flexible polymer chains in two and three dimensions. A rich collection of distinct crystal morphologies appear, which can be finely tuned through the range of attraction. In three dimensions these include the face-centered cubic, hexagonal close packed, simple hexagonal, and body-centered cubic crystals and the Frank-Kasper phase. In two dimensions the dominant structures are the triangular and square crystals. A simple geometric model is proposed, based on the concept of cumulative neighbors of ideal crystals, which can accurately predict most of the observed structures and the corresponding transitions. The attraction range can thus be considered as an adjustable parameter for the design of colloidal polymer crystals with tailored morphologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Herranz
- Institute for Optoelectronic Systems and Microtechnology (ISOM) and Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales (ETSII), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) C. José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Clara Pedrosa
- Institute for Optoelectronic Systems and Microtechnology (ISOM) and Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales (ETSII), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) C. José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Daniel Martínez-Fernández
- Institute for Optoelectronic Systems and Microtechnology (ISOM) and Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales (ETSII), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) C. José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Katerina Foteinopoulou
- Institute for Optoelectronic Systems and Microtechnology (ISOM) and Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales (ETSII), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) C. José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Nikos Ch Karayiannis
- Institute for Optoelectronic Systems and Microtechnology (ISOM) and Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales (ETSII), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) C. José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Laso
- Institute for Optoelectronic Systems and Microtechnology (ISOM) and Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales (ETSII), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) C. José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
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5
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Wang Q, Jin D. Active Micro/Nanoparticles in Colloidal Microswarms. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 13:nano13101687. [PMID: 37242103 DOI: 10.3390/nano13101687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Colloidal microswarms have attracted increasing attention in the last decade due to their unique capabilities in various complex tasks. Thousands or even millions of tiny active agents are gathered with distinctive features and emerging behaviors, demonstrating fascinating equilibrium and non-equilibrium collective states. In recent studies, with the development of materials design, remote control strategies, and the understanding of pair interactions between building blocks, microswarms have shown advantages in manipulation and targeted delivery tasks with high adaptability and on-demand pattern transformation. This review focuses on the recent progress in active micro/nanoparticles (MNPs) in colloidal microswarms under the input of an external field, including the response of MNPs to external fields, MNP-MNP interactions, and MNP-environment interactions. A fundamental understanding of how building blocks behave in a collective system provides the foundation for designing microswarm systems with autonomy and intelligence, aiming for practical application in diverse environments. It is envisioned that colloidal microswarms will significantly impact active delivery and manipulation applications on small scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qianqian Wang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, School of Mechanical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211000, China
| | - Dongdong Jin
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518000, China
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6
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Martín-Roca J, Horcajo-Fernández M, Valeriani C, Gámez F, Martínez-Pedrero F. Field-Pulse-Induced Annealing of 2D Colloidal Polycrystals. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 13:397. [PMID: 36770358 PMCID: PMC9921439 DOI: 10.3390/nano13030397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Two-dimensional colloidal crystals are of considerable fundamental and practical importance. However, their quality is often low due to the widespread presence of domain walls and defects. In this work, we explored the annealing process undergone by monolayers of superparamagnetic colloids adsorbed onto fluid interfaces in the presence of magnetic field pulses. These systems present the extraordinary peculiarity that both the extent and the character of interparticle interactions can be adjusted at will by simply varying the strength and orientation of the applied field so that the application of field pulses results in a sudden input of energy. Specifically, we have studied the effect of polycrystal size, pulse duration, slope and frequency on the efficiency of the annealing process and found that (i) this strategy is only effective when the polycrystal consists of less than approximately 10 domains; (ii) that the pulse duration should be of the order of magnitude of the time required for the outer particles to travel one diameter during the heating step; (iii) that the quality of larger polycrystals can be slightly improved by applying tilted pulses. The experimental results were corroborated by Brownian dynamics simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Martín-Roca
- Departamento de Estructura de la Materia, Física Térmica y Electrónica, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- GISC-Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Chantal Valeriani
- Departamento de Estructura de la Materia, Física Térmica y Electrónica, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- GISC-Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Gámez
- Departamento de Química-Física, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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7
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Bozuyuk U, Aghakhani A, Alapan Y, Yunusa M, Wrede P, Sitti M. Reduced rotational flows enable the translation of surface-rolling microrobots in confined spaces. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6289. [PMID: 36271078 PMCID: PMC9586970 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34023-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological microorganisms overcome the Brownian motion at low Reynolds numbers by utilizing symmetry-breaking mechanisms. Inspired by them, various microrobot locomotion methods have been developed at the microscale by breaking the hydrodynamic symmetry. Although the boundary effects have been extensively studied for microswimmers and employed for surface-rolling microrobots, the behavior of microrobots in the proximity of multiple wall-based "confinement" is yet to be elucidated. Here, we study the confinement effect on the motion of surface-rolling microrobots. Our experiments demonstrate that the locomotion efficiency of spherical microrollers drastically decreases in confined spaces due to out-of-plane rotational flows generated during locomotion. Hence, a slender microroller design, generating smaller rotational flows, is shown to outperform spherical microrollers in confined spaces. Our results elucidate the underlying physics of surface rolling-based locomotion in confined spaces and present a design strategy with optimal flow generation for efficient propulsion in such areas, including blood vessels and microchannels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ugur Bozuyuk
- grid.419534.e0000 0001 1015 6533Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany ,grid.5801.c0000 0001 2156 2780Institute for Biomedical Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Amirreza Aghakhani
- grid.419534.e0000 0001 1015 6533Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Yunus Alapan
- grid.419534.e0000 0001 1015 6533Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Muhammad Yunusa
- grid.419534.e0000 0001 1015 6533Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Paul Wrede
- grid.419534.e0000 0001 1015 6533Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany ,grid.5801.c0000 0001 2156 2780Institute for Biomedical Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Metin Sitti
- grid.419534.e0000 0001 1015 6533Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany ,grid.5801.c0000 0001 2156 2780Institute for Biomedical Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland ,grid.15876.3d0000000106887552School of Medicine and School of Engineering, Koç University, Istanbul, 34450 Turkey
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8
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Mignolet F, Darras A, Lumay G. Superparamagnetic colloids in a rotating field: Transition state from chains to disks. Phys Rev E 2022; 106:034606. [PMID: 36266873 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.106.034606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
When exposed to an external magnetic field, 2D layers of spherical superparamagnetic colloids form specific structures which depend on the features of the external field. If the magnetic field is constant along time, superparamagnetic colloids self-organize into chains oriented in the direction of the field. If the magnetic field is rotating in the plane of the suspension, below a critical frequency, the superparamagnetic beads still aggregate into chains, but these chains rotate with the magnetic field. When the rotation reaches a certain speed, the colloids aggregate in rotating disklike clusters. In this work, we focused on the early stages of the disklike clusters' aggregation and the dynamics of this process. In particular, we observed experimentally that before clustering into disklike structures, the colloids were aggregating into rotating chains, just as they did in suspensions submitted to a magnetic field rotating at a lower rate. Over time, the chains interact with one another and aggregate into disklike clusters, resulting in a mixture of chains and disks in the sample. Finally, we propose a model to characterize the suspension over time in terms of the proportion of chains and disklike clusters, and report its deduced temporal evolution for different frequencies and volume fractions.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Mignolet
- GRASP Laboratory, CESAM Reasearch Unit, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium
| | - A Darras
- GRASP Laboratory, CESAM Reasearch Unit, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium
| | - G Lumay
- GRASP Laboratory, CESAM Reasearch Unit, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium
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9
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Mhanna R, Gao Y, Van Tol I, Springer E, Wu N, Marr DWM. Chain Assembly Kinetics from Magnetic Colloidal Spheres. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:5730-5737. [PMID: 35486385 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c00343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Magnetic colloidal chains are a microrobotic system with promising applications due to their versatility, biocompatibility, and ease of manipulation under magnetic fields. Their synthesis involves kinetic pathways that control chain quality, length, and flexibility, a process performed by first aligning superparamagnetic particles under a one-dimensional magnetic field and then chemically linking them using a four-armed maleimide-functionalized poly(ethylene glycol). Here, we systematically vary the concentration of the poly(ethylene glycol) linkers, the reaction temperature, and the magnetic field strength to study their impact on the physical properties of synthesized chains, including the chain length distribution, reaction temperature, and bending modulus. We find that this chain fabrication process resembles step-growth polymerization and can be accurately described by the Flory-Schulz model. Under optimized experimental conditions, we have successfully synthesized long flexible colloidal chains with a bending modulus, which is 4 orders of magnitude smaller than previous studies. Such flexible and long chains can be folded entirely into concentric rings and helices with multiple turns, demonstrating the potential for investigating the actuation, assembly, and folding behaviors of these colloidal polymer analogues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramona Mhanna
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Yan Gao
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Isaac Van Tol
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Ela Springer
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Ning Wu
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - David W M Marr
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
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10
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Fan X, Walther A. 1D Colloidal chains: recent progress from formation to emergent properties and applications. Chem Soc Rev 2022; 51:4023-4074. [PMID: 35502721 DOI: 10.1039/d2cs00112h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Integrating nanoscale building blocks of low dimensionality (0D; i.e., spheres) into higher dimensional structures endows them and their corresponding materials with emergent properties non-existent or only weakly existent in the individual building blocks. Constructing 1D chains, 2D arrays and 3D superlattices using nanoparticles and colloids therefore continues to be one of the grand goals in colloid and nanomaterial science. Amongst these higher order structures, 1D colloidal chains are of particular interest, as they possess unique anisotropic properties. In recent years, the most relevant advances in 1D colloidal chain research have been made in novel synthetic methodologies and applications. In this review, we first address a comprehensive description of the research progress concerning various synthetic strategies developed to construct 1D colloidal chains. Following this, we highlight the amplified and emergent properties of the resulting materials, originating from the assembly of the individual building blocks and their collective behavior, and discuss relevant applications in advanced materials. In the discussion of synthetic strategies, properties, and applications, particular attention will be paid to overarching concepts, fresh trends, and potential areas of future research. We believe that this comprehensive review will be a driver to guide the interdisciplinary field of 1D colloidal chains, where nanomaterial synthesis, self-assembly, physical property studies, and material applications meet, to a higher level, and open up new research opportunities at the interface of classical disciplines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinlong Fan
- Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Str. 31, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Andreas Walther
- A3BMS Lab, Department of Chemistry, University of Mainz, Duesbergweg 10-14, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
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11
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Microrobot collectives with reconfigurable morphologies, behaviors, and functions. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2239. [PMID: 35473915 PMCID: PMC9043221 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29882-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Mobile microrobots, which can navigate, sense, and interact with their environment, could potentially revolutionize biomedicine and environmental remediation. Many self-organizing microrobotic collectives have been developed to overcome inherent limits in actuation, sensing, and manipulation of individual microrobots; however, reconfigurable collectives with robust transitions between behaviors are rare. Such systems that perform multiple functions are advantageous to operate in complex environments. Here, we present a versatile microrobotic collective system capable of on-demand reconfiguration to adapt to and utilize their environments to perform various functions at the air-water interface. Our system exhibits diverse modes ranging from isotropic to anisotrpic behaviors and transitions between a globally driven and a novel self-propelling behavior. We show the transition between different modes in experiments and simulations, and demonstrate various functions, using the reconfigurability of our system to navigate, explore, and interact with the environment. Such versatile microrobot collectives with globally driven and self-propelled behaviors have great potential in future medical and environmental applications.
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12
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Guzmán E, Martínez-Pedrero F, Calero C, Maestro A, Ortega F, Rubio RG. A broad perspective to particle-laden fluid interfaces systems: from chemically homogeneous particles to active colloids. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 2022; 302:102620. [PMID: 35259565 DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2022.102620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2021] [Revised: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Particles adsorbed to fluid interfaces are ubiquitous in industry, nature or life. The wide range of properties arising from the assembly of particles at fluid interface has stimulated an intense research activity on shed light to the most fundamental physico-chemical aspects of these systems. These include the mechanisms driving the equilibration of the interfacial layers, trapping energy, specific inter-particle interactions and the response of the particle-laden interface to mechanical perturbations and flows. The understanding of the physico-chemistry of particle-laden interfaces becomes essential for taking advantage of the particle capacity to stabilize interfaces for the preparation of different dispersed systems (emulsions, foams or colloidosomes) and the fabrication of new reconfigurable interface-dominated devices. This review presents a detailed overview of the physico-chemical aspects that determine the behavior of particles trapped at fluid interfaces. This has been combined with some examples of real and potential applications of these systems in technological and industrial fields. It is expected that this information can provide a general perspective of the topic that can be exploited for researchers and technologist non-specialized in the study of particle-laden interfaces, or for experienced researcher seeking new questions to solve.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Guzmán
- Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain; Unidad de Materia Condensada, Instituto Pluridisciplinar, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Paseo Juan XXIII 1, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Fernando Martínez-Pedrero
- Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Carles Calero
- Departament de Física de la Matèria Condensada, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Avenida Diagonal 647, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Institut de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia, IN2UB, Universitat de Barcelona, Avenida, Diagonal 647, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Armando Maestro
- Centro de Fı́sica de Materiales (CSIC, UPV/EHU)-Materials Physics Center MPC, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain; IKERBASQUE-Basque Foundation for Science, Plaza Euskadi 5, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Francisco Ortega
- Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain; Unidad de Materia Condensada, Instituto Pluridisciplinar, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Paseo Juan XXIII 1, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ramón G Rubio
- Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain; Unidad de Materia Condensada, Instituto Pluridisciplinar, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Paseo Juan XXIII 1, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
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