Mechanical Response of a Small Swimmer Driven by Conformational Transitions

Abstract

A conformation space kinetic model is constructed to drive the deformation cycle of a three-sphere swimmer to achieve propulsion at low Reynolds number. We analyze the effect of an external load on the performance of this kinetic swimmer, and show that it depends sensitively on where the force is exerted, so that there is no general force--velocity relation. We discuss how the conformational cycle of such swimmers should be designed to increase their performance in resisting forces applied at specific points.

4 pages, 3 figures; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett

References in corpus (4)

• Self-motile colloidal particles: from directed propulsion to random walk
• Propulsion of a molecular machine by asymmetric distribution of reaction--products
• Designing phoretic micro- and nano-swimmers
• Numerical Study of a Microscopic Artificial Swimmer

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• Three-Sphere Low Reynolds Number Swimmer with a Cargo Container
• A simple self-organized swimmer driven by molecular motors