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Propulsion and controlled steering of magnetic nanohelices

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journal contribution
posted on 2019-02-25, 14:28 authored by Maria M. Alcanzare, Mikko Karttunen, Tapio Ala-NissilaTapio Ala-Nissila
Externally controlled motion of micro and nanomotors in a fluid environment constitutes a promising tool in biosensing, targeted delivery and environmental remediation. In particular, recent experiments have demonstrated that fuel-free propulsion can be achieved through the application of external magnetic fields on magnetic helically shaped structures. The magnetic interaction between helices and the rotating field induces a torque that rotates and propels them via the coupled rotational-translational motion. Recent works have shown that there exist certain optimal geometries of helical shapes for propulsion. However, experiments show that controlled motion remains a challenge at the nanoscale due to Brownian motion that interferes with the deterministic motion and makes it difficult to achieve controlled steering. In the present work we employ quantitatively accurate simulation methodology to design a setup for which magnetic nanohelices of 30 nm in radius and 180 nm in length (corresponding to previously determined optimal length to radius ratio of 6), with and without cargo, can be accurately propelled and steered in the presence of thermal fluctuations. In particular, we demonstrate fast transport of such nanomotors and devise protocols in manipulating external fields to achieve directionally controlled steering at biologically relevant temperatures.

Funding

This work was supported in part by the Academy of Finland through its Centres of Excellence Programme (2012-2017) under Project No. 251748 and Aalto Energy Efficiency Research Programme.

History

School

  • Science

Department

  • Mathematical Sciences

Published in

Soft Matter

Citation

ALCANZARE, M.M., KARTTUNEN, M. and ALA-NISSILA, T., 2019. Propulsion and controlled steering of magnetic nanohelices. Soft Matter, 15, pp. 1684-1691.

Publisher

© Royal Society of Chemistry

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publisher statement

This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Soft Matter and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1039/c8sm00037a.

Acceptance date

2019-01-01

Publication date

2019-01-04

ISSN

1744-683X

eISSN

1744-6848

Language

  • en

Location

England

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