Upstream Swimming in Microbiological Flows

Arnold J. T. M. Mathijssen; Tyler N. Shendruk; Julia M. Yeomans; Amin Doostmohammadi

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.028104

Upstream Swimming in Microbiological Flows

Arnold J. T. M. Mathijssen, Tyler N. Shendruk, Julia M. Yeomans, Amin Doostmohammadi

School of Physics and Astronomy

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Abstract / Description of output

Interactions between microorganisms and their complex flowing environments are essential in many biological systems. We develop a model for microswimmer dynamics in non-Newtonian Poiseuille flows. We predict that swimmers in shear-thickening (-thinning) fluids migrate upstream more (less) quickly than in Newtonian fluids and demonstrate that viscoelastic normal stress differences reorient swimmers causing them to migrate upstream at the centerline, in contrast to well-known boundary accumulation in quiescent Newtonian fluids. Based on these observations, we suggest a sorting mechanism to select microbes by swimming speed.

Original language	English
Article number	028104
Journal	Physical Review Letters
Volume	116
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.028104
Publication status	Published - 15 Jan 2016

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10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.028104

2016_PRL_aamAccepted author manuscript, 2.77 MB

Tyler Shendruk
- School of Physics and Astronomy - Reader in Theoretical/Computational condensed Ma
Person: Academic: Research Active

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title = "Upstream Swimming in Microbiological Flows",

abstract = "Interactions between microorganisms and their complex flowing environments are essential in many biological systems. We develop a model for microswimmer dynamics in non-Newtonian Poiseuille flows. We predict that swimmers in shear-thickening (-thinning) fluids migrate upstream more (less) quickly than in Newtonian fluids and demonstrate that viscoelastic normal stress differences reorient swimmers causing them to migrate upstream at the centerline, in contrast to well-known boundary accumulation in quiescent Newtonian fluids. Based on these observations, we suggest a sorting mechanism to select microbes by swimming speed.",

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AU - Yeomans, Julia M.

AU - Doostmohammadi, Amin

PY - 2016/1/15

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N2 - Interactions between microorganisms and their complex flowing environments are essential in many biological systems. We develop a model for microswimmer dynamics in non-Newtonian Poiseuille flows. We predict that swimmers in shear-thickening (-thinning) fluids migrate upstream more (less) quickly than in Newtonian fluids and demonstrate that viscoelastic normal stress differences reorient swimmers causing them to migrate upstream at the centerline, in contrast to well-known boundary accumulation in quiescent Newtonian fluids. Based on these observations, we suggest a sorting mechanism to select microbes by swimming speed.

AB - Interactions between microorganisms and their complex flowing environments are essential in many biological systems. We develop a model for microswimmer dynamics in non-Newtonian Poiseuille flows. We predict that swimmers in shear-thickening (-thinning) fluids migrate upstream more (less) quickly than in Newtonian fluids and demonstrate that viscoelastic normal stress differences reorient swimmers causing them to migrate upstream at the centerline, in contrast to well-known boundary accumulation in quiescent Newtonian fluids. Based on these observations, we suggest a sorting mechanism to select microbes by swimming speed.

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DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.028104

M3 - Article

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Upstream Swimming in Microbiological Flows

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Tyler Shendruk

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