Hydrodynamic mobility of a solid particle near a spherical elastic membrane. II. Asymmetric motion

Mediated interactions between rigid inclusions in two-dimensional elastic or fluid films

Interactions between rigid inclusions in continuous three-dimensional linearly elastic solids and low-Reynolds-number viscous fluids have largely been quantified in the past. Prime example systems are given by functionalized elastic composite materials or fluid colloidal suspensions. Here, we address the significantly less frequently studied situation of rigid inclusions in two-dimensional elastic or low-Reynolds-number fluid films. We concentrate on the situation in which disklike inclusions remain well separated from each other and do not get into contact. Specifically, we demonstrate and explain that the logarithmic divergence of the associated Green's function is removed in the absence of net external forces on the inclusions, in line with physical intuition. For instance, this situation applies when only pairwise mutual interactions between the inclusions prevail. Our results will support, for example, investigations on membranes functionalized by appropriate inclusions, both of technical or biological origin, or the dynamics of active microswimmers in appropriately prepared thin films.

Towards an analytical description of active microswimmers in clean and in surfactant-covered drops

Geometric confinements are frequently encountered in the biological world and strongly affect the stability, topology, and transport properties of active suspensions in viscous flow. Based on a far-field analytical model, the low-Reynolds-number locomotion of a self-propelled microswimmer moving inside a clean viscous drop or a drop covered with a homogeneously distributed surfactant, is theoretically examined. The interfacial viscous stresses induced by the surfactant are described by the well-established Boussinesq-Scriven constitutive rheological model. Moreover, the active agent is represented by a force dipole and the resulting fluid-mediated hydrodynamic couplings between the swimmer and the confining drop are investigated. We find that the presence of the surfactant significantly alters the dynamics of the encapsulated swimmer by enhancing its reorientation. Exact solutions for the velocity images for the Stokeslet and dipolar flow singularities inside the drop are introduced and expressed in terms of infinite series of harmonic components. Our results offer useful insights into guiding principles for the control of confined active matter systems and support the objective of utilizing synthetic microswimmers to drive drops for targeted drug delivery applications.

Frequency-dependent higher-order Stokes singularities near a planar elastic boundary: Implications for the hydrodynamics of an active microswimmer near an elastic interface

The emerging field of self-driven active particles in fluid environments has recently created significant interest in the biophysics and bioengineering communities owing to their promising future for biomedical and technological applications. These microswimmers move autonomously through aqueous media, where under realistic situations they encounter a plethora of external stimuli and confining surfaces with peculiar elastic properties. Based on a far-field hydrodynamic model, we present an analytical theory to describe the physical interaction and hydrodynamic couplings between a self-propelled active microswimmer and an elastic interface that features resistance toward shear and bending. We model the active agent as a superposition of higher-order Stokes singularities and elucidate the associated translational and rotational velocities induced by the nearby elastic boundary. Our results show that the velocities can be decomposed in shear and bending related contributions which approach the velocities of active agents close to a no-slip rigid wall in the steady limit. The transient dynamics predict that contributions to the velocities of the microswimmer due to bending resistance are generally more pronounced than those due to shear resistance. Bending can enhance (suppress) the velocities resulting from higher-order singularities whereas the shear related contribution decreases (increases) the velocities. Most prominently, we find that near an elastic interface of only energetic resistance toward shear deformation, such as that of an elastic capsule designed for drug delivery, a swimming bacterium undergoes rotation of the same sense as observed near a no-slip wall. In contrast to that, near an interface of only energetic resistance toward bending, such as that of a fluid vesicle or liposome, we find a reversed sense of rotation. Our results provide insight into the control and guidance of artificial and synthetic self-propelling active microswimmers near elastic confinements.

Creeping motion of a solid particle inside a spherical elastic cavity: II. Asymmetric motion

An analytical method is proposed for computing the low-Reynolds-number hydrodynamic mobility function of a small colloidal particle asymmetrically moving inside a large spherical elastic cavity, the membrane of which is endowed with resistance toward shear and bending. In conjunction with the results obtained in the first part (A. Daddi-Moussa-Ider, H. Löwen, S. Gekle, Eur. Phys. J. E 41, 104 (2018)), in which the axisymmetric motion normal to the surface of an elastic cavity is investigated, the general motion for an arbitrary force direction can now be addressed. The elastohydrodynamic problem is formulated and solved using the classic method of images through expressing the hydrodynamic flow fields as a multipole expansion involving higher-order derivatives of the free-space Green's function. In the quasi-steady limit, we demonstrate that the particle self-mobility function of a particle moving tangent to the surface of the cavity is larger than that predicted inside a rigid stationary cavity of equal size. This difference is justified by the fact that a stationary rigid cavity introduces additional hindrance to the translational motion of the encapsulated particle, resulting in a reduction of its hydrodynamic mobility. Furthermore, the motion of the cavity is investigated, revealing that the translational pair (composite) mobility, which linearly couples the velocity of the elastic cavity to the force exerted on the solid particle, is solely determined by membrane shear properties. Our analytical predictions are favorably compared with fully-resolved computer simulations based on a completed-double-layer boundary integral method.

Creeping motion of a solid particle inside a spherical elastic cavity⋆

On the basis of the linear hydrodynamic equations, we present an analytical theory for the low-Reynolds-number motion of a solid particle moving inside a larger spherical elastic cavity which can be seen as a model system for a fluid vesicle. In the particular situation where the particle is concentric with the cavity, we use the stream function technique to find exact analytical solutions of the fluid motion equations on both sides of the elastic cavity. In this particular situation, we find that the solution of the hydrodynamic equations is solely determined by membrane shear properties and that bending does not play a role. For an arbitrary position of the solid particle within the spherical cavity, we employ the image solution technique to compute the axisymmetric flow field induced by a point force (Stokeslet). We then obtain analytical expressions of the leading-order mobility function describing the fluid-mediated hydrodynamic interactions between the particle and the confining elastic cavity. In the quasi-steady limit of vanishing frequency, we find that the particle self-mobility function is higher than that predicted inside a rigid no-slip cavity. Considering the cavity motion, we find that the pair-mobility function is determined only by membrane shear properties. Our analytical predictions are supplemented and validated by fully resolved boundary integral simulations where a very good agreement is obtained over the whole range of applied forcing frequencies.

State diagram of a three-sphere microswimmer in a channel

Geometric confinements are frequently encountered in soft matter systems and in particular significantly alter the dynamics of swimming microorganisms in viscous media. Surface-related effects on the motility of microswimmers can lead to important consequences in a large number of biological systems, such as biofilm formation, bacterial adhesion and microbial activity. On the basis of low-Reynolds-number hydrodynamics, we explore the state diagram of a three-sphere microswimmer under channel confinement in a slit geometry and fully characterize the swimming behavior and trajectories for neutral swimmers, puller- and pusher-type swimmers. While pushers always end up trapped at the channel walls, neutral swimmers and pullers may further perform a gliding motion and maintain a stable navigation along the channel. We find that the resulting dynamical system exhibits a supercritical pitchfork bifurcation in which swimming in the mid-plane becomes unstable beyond a transition channel height while two new stable limit cycles or fixed points that are symmetrically disposed with respect to the channel mid-height emerge. Additionally, we show that an accurate description of the averaged swimming velocity and rotation rate in a channel can be captured analytically using the method of hydrodynamic images, provided that the swimmer size is much smaller than the channel height.

Theory of anomalous collective diffusion in colloidal monolayers on a spherical interface

A planar colloidal monolayer exhibits anomalous collective diffusion due to the hydrodynamic interactions. We investigate how this behavior is affected by the curvature of the monolayer when it resides on the interface of a spherical droplet. It is found that the characteristic times of the dynamics still exhibit the same anomalous scaling as in the planar case. The spatial distribution, however, shows a difference due to the relevance of the radius of the droplet. Since for the droplet this is both a global magnitude, i.e., pertaining to the spatial extent of the spherical surface, and a local one, i.e., the radius of curvature, the question remains open as to which of these two features actually dominates in the case of a generically curved interface.

Brownian motion near an elastic cell membrane: A theoretical study

Elastic confinements are an important component of many biological systems and dictate the transport properties of suspended particles under flow. In this paper, we review the Brownian motion of a particle moving in the vicinity of a living cell whose membrane is endowed with a resistance towards shear and bending. The analytical calculations proceed through the computation of the frequency-dependent mobility functions and the application of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. Elastic interfaces endow the system with memory effects that lead to a long-lived anomalous subdiffusive regime of nearby particles. In the steady limit, the diffusional behavior approaches that near a no-slip hard wall. The analytical predictions are validated and supplemented with boundary-integral simulations.