Experimental investigation of biomimetic propulsion through a scaled up branched flagellated artificial nanoswimmer

ABSTRACT

Locomotion of bacteria in fluid at small scale is accomplished by cilia and flagella present on its surface. In the present study, existence of cilia on Paramecium surface is mimicked to design scaled-up swimmer rather than utilising its biological function. In the present study, the branches (cilia) on flagella (Paramecium) is employed for designing of tail of an artificial nanoswimmer and experiments are performed at scaled-up level in silicon oil medium to maintain low Reynolds number. The effects of branches on generation of thrust force are investigated by fabricating the branched flagella using flexible polydimethylsiloxane biocompatible material suitable for human body and biological applications. The resulting data are quantitatively compared through statistical analysis. In the present research work, various designs of branched flagellated swimmer are fabricated by varying the number of branches and spacing between branches. Enhancement in thrust force is observed approximately 24% when number of branches is increased from 8 to 28. Therefore, it is concluded that branches on flagella play significant role in enhancement of thrust force for propelling nanoswimmer. Spacing between 8 branches flagella is also varied from 5 to 15 mm and percentage increase in thrust force is observed as 8.1%.

KEYWORDS:

• Branched flagella
• nanoswimmer
• cilia
• PDMS

Acknowledgments

This study is supported in part by University Grant Commission (UGC) Reference No. 41-990/2012 (SR).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shivani Nain

Shivani Nain received the B.A.Sc. (H) degree in Instrumentation from Delhi University and M.Sc. degree in Bioelectronics and Instrumentation from Jamia Hamdard University, Delhi, India, in 2010 and 2012 respectively. She did Ph.D. at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, India on 16^th March 2020. Her research interest include nanorobotics and  MEMS, microfluidics and Biosensors.

Jitendra Singh Rathore

Jitendra Singh Rathore received Ph.D. degree from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, India in 2014. He is currently working as an assistant professor at Mechanical Engineering Department, BITS. After working for four years in Industries, He joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering, BITS in 2006 as a faculty member. His research interests include nanorobotics, low Reynolds number, and mechanics of  materials.

Niti Nipun Sharma

Niti Nipun Sharma received his Ph.D. degree from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, India in 2004. His PhD thesis concerns the broad area of nanodynamics. Since 1998 to 2014, he was a member of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, BITS Pilani. Prof. Sharma currently involved with various aspects of nanotechnology, and MEMS among which nanoactuators and microactuator are foremost. His research interests also include design and control of robotic manipulators. He is currently holding administrative responsibility of Pro President Manipal University Jaipur, India.