Performance of a Helical Microswimmer Traversing a Discrete Viscoelastic Network with Dynamic Remodeling
Microorganisms often navigate a complex environment composed of a viscous fluid with suspended microstructures such as elastic polymers and filamentous networks. These microstructures can have similar length scales to the microorganisms, leading to complex swimming dynamics. Some microorganisms secr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Fluids |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5521/7/8/257 |
| _version_ | 1827628162124611584 |
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| author | Rudi Schuech Ricardo Cortez Lisa Fauci |
| author_facet | Rudi Schuech Ricardo Cortez Lisa Fauci |
| author_sort | Rudi Schuech |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microorganisms often navigate a complex environment composed of a viscous fluid with suspended microstructures such as elastic polymers and filamentous networks. These microstructures can have similar length scales to the microorganisms, leading to complex swimming dynamics. Some microorganisms secrete enzymes that dynamically change the elastic properties of the viscoelastic networks through which they move. In addition to biological organisms, microrobots have been engineered with the goals of mucin gel penetration or dissolving blood clots. In order to gain insight into the coupling between swimming performance and network remodeling, we used a regularized Stokeslet boundary element method to compute the motion of a microswimmer consisting of a rotating spherical body and counter-rotating helical flagellum. The viscoelastic network is represented by a network of points connected by virtual elastic linkages immersed in a viscous fluid. Here, we model the enzymatic dissolution of the network by bacteria or microrobots by dynamically breaking elastic linkages when the cell body of the swimmer falls within a given distance from the link. We investigate the swimming performance of the microbes as they penetrate and move through networks of different material properties, and also examine the effect of network remodeling. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:26:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-02c82f14290a4ce9b43335bd3f4c37a2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-5521 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:26:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fluids |
| spelling | doaj.art-02c82f14290a4ce9b43335bd3f4c37a22023-11-30T21:22:42ZengMDPI AGFluids2311-55212022-07-017825710.3390/fluids7080257Performance of a Helical Microswimmer Traversing a Discrete Viscoelastic Network with Dynamic RemodelingRudi Schuech0Ricardo Cortez1Lisa Fauci2Department of Mathematics and Center for Computational Science, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USADepartment of Mathematics and Center for Computational Science, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USADepartment of Mathematics and Center for Computational Science, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USAMicroorganisms often navigate a complex environment composed of a viscous fluid with suspended microstructures such as elastic polymers and filamentous networks. These microstructures can have similar length scales to the microorganisms, leading to complex swimming dynamics. Some microorganisms secrete enzymes that dynamically change the elastic properties of the viscoelastic networks through which they move. In addition to biological organisms, microrobots have been engineered with the goals of mucin gel penetration or dissolving blood clots. In order to gain insight into the coupling between swimming performance and network remodeling, we used a regularized Stokeslet boundary element method to compute the motion of a microswimmer consisting of a rotating spherical body and counter-rotating helical flagellum. The viscoelastic network is represented by a network of points connected by virtual elastic linkages immersed in a viscous fluid. Here, we model the enzymatic dissolution of the network by bacteria or microrobots by dynamically breaking elastic linkages when the cell body of the swimmer falls within a given distance from the link. We investigate the swimming performance of the microbes as they penetrate and move through networks of different material properties, and also examine the effect of network remodeling.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5521/7/8/257low Reynolds number flowsStokes flowmicroorganism motilityviscoelasticity |
| spellingShingle | Rudi Schuech Ricardo Cortez Lisa Fauci Performance of a Helical Microswimmer Traversing a Discrete Viscoelastic Network with Dynamic Remodeling Fluids low Reynolds number flows Stokes flow microorganism motility viscoelasticity |
| title | Performance of a Helical Microswimmer Traversing a Discrete Viscoelastic Network with Dynamic Remodeling |
| title_full | Performance of a Helical Microswimmer Traversing a Discrete Viscoelastic Network with Dynamic Remodeling |
| title_fullStr | Performance of a Helical Microswimmer Traversing a Discrete Viscoelastic Network with Dynamic Remodeling |
| title_full_unstemmed | Performance of a Helical Microswimmer Traversing a Discrete Viscoelastic Network with Dynamic Remodeling |
| title_short | Performance of a Helical Microswimmer Traversing a Discrete Viscoelastic Network with Dynamic Remodeling |
| title_sort | performance of a helical microswimmer traversing a discrete viscoelastic network with dynamic remodeling |
| topic | low Reynolds number flows Stokes flow microorganism motility viscoelasticity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5521/7/8/257 |
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