Researchers propose a new way to transport materials through tiny devices

Scientists in China have trapped bacteria in 3D-printed structures and used them to pump materials along customised paths.

Transporting materials in the microscopic world is complex. Conventionally, macroscopic pumps drive motion, but pumps are bulky and not ideal for miniaturisation. Now, Hepeng Zhang and colleagues at Shanghai Jiao Tong University have tackled this problem using native inhabitants of the microscopic world – motile bacteria. Not only are they already present in the media, but their energy conversion efficiency is estimated to be greater than existing man-made micro-motors.

References

This article is free to access until 10 December 2015

Z Gao et al, Lab Chip, 2015, DOI: 10.1039/c5lc01093d

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