la9b03509_si_001.pdf (2.64 MB)
Locomotion of Micromotors Due to Liposome Disintegration
journal contribution
posted on 2020-03-05, 16:51 authored by Federico Mazur, Marina Fernández-Medina, Noga Gal, Ondrej Hovorka, Rona Chandrawati, Brigitte StädlerSynthetic micromotors are evaluated
extensively in a range of biomedical,
microscale transport, and environmental applications. Fundamental
insight into micromotors that exhibit locomotion due to triggered
disintegration of their associated liposomes is provided. Directed
self-propulsion is observed when the lipid vesicles are solubilized
using Triton X-100 (TX) and bile at sufficiently high concentrations.
Directional motion, initiated by a propagating TX or bile gradient,
is found when using a sufficiently high concentration of solubilization
agents. On the other hand, a low bile concentration results in short-term
reverse directional motion. The experimental and theoretical considerations
offer valid fundamental understanding to complement the list of explored
locomotion mechanisms for micromotors.