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Propulsion of liposomes using bacterial motors
Zhenhai Zhang1, Zhifei Li, Wei Yu
1School of Mechatronics Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China. zhzhang@bit.edu.cn
Abstract:
Here we describe the utilization of flagellated bacteria as actuators to propel spherical liposomes by attaching bacteria to the liposome surface. Bacteria were stably attached to liposomes using a cross-linking antibody. The effect of the number of attached bacteria on propulsion speed was experimentally determined. The effects of bacterial propulsion on the bacteria-antibody-liposome complex were stochastic. We demonstrated that liposomal mobility increased when bacteria were attached, and the propulsion speed correlated with the number of bacteria.
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