Intelligent Systems
Note: This research group has relocated.

Chemotaxis of Active Janus Nanoparticles

2018

Article

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icm


While colloids and molecules in solution exhibit passive Brownian motion, particles that are partially covered with a catalyst, which promotes the transformation of a fuel dissolved in the solution, can actively move. These active Janus particles are known as “chemical nanomotors” or self-propelling “swimmers” and have been realized with a range of catalysts, sizes, and particle geometries. Because their active translation depends on the fuel concentration, one expects that active colloidal particles should also be able to swim toward a fuel source. Synthesizing and engineering nanoparticles with distinct chemotactic properties may enable important developments, such as particles that can autonomously swim along a pH gradient toward a tumor. Chemotaxis requires that the particles possess an active coupling of their orientation to a chemical gradient. In this Perspective we provide a simple, intuitive description of the underlying mechanisms for chemotaxis, as well as the means to analyze and classify active particles that can show positive or negative chemotaxis. The classification provides guidance for engineering a specific response and is a useful organizing framework for the quantitative analysis and modeling of chemotactic behaviors. Chemotaxis is emerging as an important focus area in the field of active colloids and promises a number of fascinating applications for nanoparticles and particle-based delivery.

Author(s): Popescu, Mihail N. and Uspal, William E. and Bechinger, Clemens and Fischer, Peer
Journal: Nano Letters
Volume: 18
Number (issue): 9
Pages: 5345--5349
Year: 2018
Month: July
Day: 26

Department(s): Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems, Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter
Bibtex Type: Article (article)

DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b02572
State: Published
URL: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b02572

BibTex

@article{2018popescu,
  title = {Chemotaxis of Active Janus Nanoparticles},
  author = {Popescu, Mihail N. and Uspal, William E. and Bechinger, Clemens and Fischer, Peer},
  journal = {Nano Letters},
  volume = {18},
  number = {9},
  pages = {5345--5349},
  month = jul,
  year = {2018},
  doi = {10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b02572},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b02572 },
  month_numeric = {7}
}