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Title: Instability of Expanding Bacterial Droplets

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Materials Science Division
  2. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Dept. of Biomedical Engineering
  3. California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
  4. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Materials Science Division; Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Dept. of Biomedical Engineering

Suspensions of motile bacteria or synthetic microswimmers, termed active matter, manifest a remarkable propensity for self-organization, and formation of large-scale coherent structures. Most active matter research deals with almost homogeneous in space systems and little is known about the dynamics of strongly heterogeneous active matter. Here in this paper we report on experimental and theoretical studies on the expansion of highly concentrated bacterial droplets into an ambient bacteria-free fluid. The droplet is formed beneath a rapidly rotating solid macroscopic particle inserted in the suspension. We observe vigorous instability of the droplet reminiscent of a violent explosion. The phenomenon is explained in terms of continuum first-principle theory based on the swim pressure concept. Our findings provide insights into the dynamics of active matter with strong density gradients and significantly expand the scope of experimental and analytic tools for control and manipulation of active systems.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1459889
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Vol. 9; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (6)

The propagation of active-passive interfaces in bacterial swarms journal December 2018
Oscillatory surface rheotaxis of swimming E. coli bacteria text January 2018
Microscopic origins of the swim pressure and the anomalous surface tension of active matter journal January 2020
Rotating oil droplets driven by motile bacteria at interfaces journal January 2019
Collective dynamics of two-dimensional swimming bacteria: Experiments and models journal September 2018
Oscillatory surface rheotaxis of swimming E. coli bacteria journal July 2019