title: Active micromachines: Microfluidics powered by mesoscale turbulence.
abstract: Dense active matter, from bacterial suspensions and microtubule bundles driven by motor proteins to cellular monolayers and synthetic Janus particles, is characterized by mesoscale turbulence, which is the emergence of chaotic flow structures. By immersing an ordered array of symmetric rotors in an active fluid, we introduce a microfluidic system that exploits spontaneous symmetry breaking in mesoscale turbulence to generate work. The lattice of rotors self-organizes into a spin state where neighboring discs continuously rotate in permanent alternating directions due to combined hydrodynamic and elastic effects. Our virtual prototype demonstrates a new research direction for the design of micromachines powered by the nematohydrodynamic properties of active turbulence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India.; Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, 1 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3NP, UK.
authors.forename: Sumesh P
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8486-8653
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Thampi
authors.affiliation: Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, 1 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3NP, UK.
authors.forename: Amin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1116-4268
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Doostmohammadi
authors.affiliation: Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, 1 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3NP, UK.
authors.forename: Tyler N
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7671-2184
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Shendruk
authors.affiliation: Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, 1 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3NP, UK.
authors.forename: Ramin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Golestanian
authors.affiliation: Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, 1 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3NP, UK.
authors.forename: Julia M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Yeomans
mesh_terms: D057446:Hydrodynamics; D050866:Liquid Crystals / Q000737:chemistry; D044085:Microfluidics; D016011:Normal Distribution
keywords: Mesoscale turbulence; active matter; activity-powered micromachines; biological motors; microrotor array; self-organised spin-state