Mechanical tweezer action by self-tightening knots in surfactant nanotubes.
Entanglements and trefoil knots on surfactant nanotubes in the liquid phase were produced by a combination of network self-organization and micromanipulation. The resulting knots are self-tightening, and the tightening is driven by minimization of surface free energy of the surfactant membrane material. The formation of the knot and the steady-state knot at quasi-equilibrium can be directly followed and localized by using fluorescence microscopy. Knots on nanotubes can be used as nanoscale mechanical tweezers for trapping and manipulation of single nano- and micrometer-sized high-aspect ratio objects. Furthermore, we demonstrate that by controlling the surface tension, objects captured by a knot can be transported along given trajectories defined by the nanotube axes.
Lobovkina
Tatsiana
T
Department of Physical Chemistry and Microtechnology Centre, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden.
Dommersnes
Paul
P
Joanny
Jean-Francois
JF
Bassereau
Patricia
P
Karlsson
Mattias
M
Orwar
Owe
O
D005453:Fluorescence; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D013025:Glycine max; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D013816:Thermodynamics
D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D013501:Surface-Active Agents