Detalles de la publicación.

Artículo

Año:	2015
Autor(es):	M. Contino, E. Lushi, I. Tuval, V. Kantsler, M. Polin
Título:	Microalgae scatter off solid surfaces by hydrodynamic and contact forces
Revista:	PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
ISSN:	0031-9007
JCR Impact Factor:	7.645
Volumen:	115
Número:	25
Páginas:	258102
D.O.I.:	10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.258102
Web:	http://journals.aps.org/prl/accepted/75074Ye6Te019954c9a530e4164721d61c101174a
Resumen:	Interactions between microorganisms and solid boundaries play an important role in biological processes, like egg fertilisation, biofilm formation and soil colonisation, where microswimmers move within a structured environment. Despite recent efforts to understand their origin, it is not clear whether these interactions can be understood as fundamentally of hydrodynamic origin or hinging on the swimmer's direct contact with the obstacle. Using a combination of experiments and simulations, here we study in detail the interaction of the biflagellate green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, widely used as a model puller microorganism, with convex obstacles, a geometry ideally suited to highlight the different roles of steric and hydrodynamic effects. Our results reveal that both kinds of forces are crucial for the correct description of the interaction of this class of flagellated microorganisms with boundaries.