Issue 1, 2021

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii swimming in the Plateau borders of 2D foams

Abstract

Unicellular Chlamydomonas reinhardtii micro-algae cells were inserted into a quasi-2D Hele-Shaw chamber filled with saponin foam. The movement of the algae along the bubble borders was then manipulated and tracked. These self-propelled particles generate flow and stresses in their surrounding matter. In addition, the algae possess the capability of exerting forces that alter bubble boundaries while maintaining an imminent phototactic movement. We find that by controlling the gas fraction of the foam we can change the interaction of the algae and bubbles. Specifically, our data expose three distinct swimming regimes for the algae with respect to the level of confinement due to the Plateau border cross-section: unlimited bulk, transition, and overdamped regimes. At the transition regime we find the speed of the algae to be modeled by a simple force balance equation emerging from the shear inside the Plateau border. Thus, we have shown that it is possible to create an algae-friendly foam while controlling the algae motion. This opens doors to multiple applications where the flow of nutrients, oxygen and recirculation of living organisms is essential.

Graphical abstract: Chlamydomonas reinhardtii swimming in the Plateau borders of 2D foams

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Jul 2020
Accepted
08 Oct 2020
First published
14 Oct 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Soft Matter, 2021,17, 145-152

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii swimming in the Plateau borders of 2D foams

O. Tainio, F. Sohrabi, N. Janarek, J. Koivisto, A. Puisto, L. Viitanen, J. V. I. Timonen and M. Alava, Soft Matter, 2021, 17, 145 DOI: 10.1039/D0SM01206H

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