A bacterial ratchet motor

Details A bacterial ratchet motor A bacterial ratchet motor

2009-10-15

arxiv.org/abs/0910.2899v1

PNAS 107 (21) 9541-9545 (2010)

Physics

Condensed Matter

Statistical Mechanics

4 pages, 3 figures

Scientific paper

10.1073/pnas.0910426107

Self-propelling bacteria are a dream of nano-technology. These unicellular organisms are not just capable of living and reproducing, but they can swim very efficiently, sense the environment and look for food, all packaged in a body measuring a few microns. Before such perfect machines could be artificially assembled, researchers are beginning to explore new ways to harness bacteria as propelling units for micro-devices. Proposed strategies require the careful task of aligning and binding bacterial cells on synthetic surfaces in order to have them work cooperatively. Here we show that asymmetric micro-gears can spontaneously rotate when immersed in an active bacterial bath. The propulsion mechanism is provided by the self assembly of motile Escherichia coli cells along the saw-toothed boundaries of a nano-fabricated rotor. Our results highlight the technological implications of active matter's ability to overcome the restrictions imposed by the second law of thermodynamics on equilibrium passive fluids.

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