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Updated: May 30, 2026

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Published on: June 30, 2018
Propulsion of flexible polymer structures in a rotating magnetic field
Piotr Garstecki1, Pietro Tierno, Douglas B Weibel
1Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224, Warsaw, Poland.
Abstract:
We demonstrate a new concept for the propulsions of abiological structures at low Reynolds numbers. The approach is based on the design of flexible, planar polymer structures with a permanent magnetic moment. In the presence of an external, uniform, rotating magnetic field these structures deform into three-dimensional shapes that have helical symmetry and translate linearly through fluids at Re between 10(-1) and 10. The mechanism for the motility of these structures involves reversible deformation that breaks their planar symmetry and generates propulsion. These elastic propellers resemble microorganisms that use rotational mechanisms based on flagella and cilia for their motility in fluids at low Re.
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