Chemically Propelled Motors Navigate Chemical Patterns.

ABSTRACT: Very small synthetic motors that use chemical reactions to drive their motion are being studied widely because of their potential applications, which often involve active transport and dynamics on nanoscales. Like biological molecular machines, they must be able to perform their tasks in complex, highly fluctuating environments that can form chemical patterns with diverse structures. Motors in such systems can actively assemble into dynamic clusters and other unique nonequilibrium states. It is shown how chemical patterns with small characteristic dimensions may be utilized to suppress rotational Brownian motions of motors and guide them to move along prescribed paths, properties that can be exploited in applications. In systems with larger pattern length scales, domains can serve as catch

SUBMITTER: Chen JX 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6145410 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature