title: Biomimetic behavior of synthetic particles: from microscopic randomness to macroscopic control.
abstract: Randomness is an inherent property of biological systems. In contrast, randomness has been mostly avoided in designing synthetic or artificial systems. Particularly, in designing micro/nano-motors, some researchers have successfully used external fields to gain deterministic control over the directionality of the objects, which otherwise move in completely random directions due to Brownian motion. However, a partial control that preserves a certain degree of randomness can be very useful in certain applications of micro/nano-motors. In this Perspective we review the current progress in establishing autonomous motion of micro/nano-particles that possess controlled randomness, provide insight into the phenomena where macroscopic order originates from microscopic disorder and discuss the resemblance between these artificial systems and biological emergent/collective behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. yuh118@chem.psu.edu
authors.forename: Yiying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Darrell
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Velegol
authors.forename: Neetu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chaturvedi
authors.forename: Ayusman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sen
mesh_terms: D032701:Biomimetics / Q000639:trends*; D009038:Motion; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000639:trends*