Prof Ramin Golestanian

Abstract:

We investigate synchronization caused by long-range hydrodynamic interaction in a two-dimensional, substrated array of rotors with random intrinsic frequencies. The rotor mimics a flagellated bacterium that is attached to the substrate ("bacterial carpet") and exerts an active force on the fluid. Transition from coherent to incoherent regimes is studied numerically, and the results are compared to a mean-field theory. We show that quite a narrow distribution of the intrinsic frequency is required to achieve collective motion in realistic cases. The transition is gradual, and the critical behavior is qualitatively different from that of the conventional globally coupled oscillators. The model not only serves as a novel example of non-locally coupled oscillators, but also provides insights into the role of intrinsic heterogeneities in living and artificial microfluidic actuators.

Abstract:

Division in Staphylococci occurs equatorially and on specific sequentially orthogonal planes in three dimensions, resulting, after incomplete cell separation, in the 'bunch of grapes' cluster organization that defines the genus. The shape of Staphylococci is principally maintained by peptidoglycan. In this study, we use Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and fluorescence microscopy with vancomycin labelling to examine purified peptidoglycan architecture and its dynamics in Staphylococcus aureus and correlate these with the cell cycle. At the presumptive septum, cells were found to form a large belt of peptidoglycan in the division plane before the centripetal formation of the septal disc; this often had a 'piecrust' texture. After division, the structures remain as orthogonal ribs, encoding the location of past division planes in the cell wall. We propose that this epigenetic information is used to enable S. aureus to divide in sequentially orthogonal planes, explaining how a spherical organism can maintain division plane localization with fidelity over many generations. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Abstract:

We study the propulsion of a micron-size paramagnetic colloidal doublet dispersed in water and driven above a surface by an external precessing magnetic field. The applied field forces the doublet to precess around an axis parallel to the plane of motion and the rotation of the colloidal assembly is rectified into translation due to a periodic asymmetry in dissipation close to the bounding plate. These recent experimental findings [P. Tierno, R. Golestanian, I. Pagonabarraga, and F. Sagués, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 218304 (2008)] are complemented here with a theoretical analysis of the system and extended to more complex magnetic modulations such as elliptical driving fields. Experimental results show a good agreement with numerical simulations with the aim to find the best conditions toward the optimization of propulsion speed and swimming efficiency.

Abstract:

Using the lateral Casimir force-a manifestation of the quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field between objects with corrugated surfaces-as the main force transduction mechanism, a nanomechanical device with rich dynamical behaviors is proposed. The device is made of two parallel racks that are moving in the same direction and a pinion in the middle that couples with both racks via the noncontact lateral Casimir force. The built-in frustration in the device causes it to be very sensitive and react dramatically to minute changes in the geometrical parameters and initial conditions of the system. The noncontact nature of the proposed device could help with the ubiquitous wear problem in nanoscale mechanical systems.

Abstract:

We demonstrate the diffusion of single poly(ethylene glycol) molecules on surfaces which change from hydrophilic to hydrophobic over a few micrometers. These gradients in surface energy are shown to drive the molecular diffusion in the direction of the hydrophilic component. The polymer diffusion coefficients on these surfaces are measured by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and are shown to be elevated by more than an order of magnitude compared to surfaces without the surface energy gradient. Along the gradient, the diffusion is asymmetric, with diffusion coefficients approximately 100 times greater in the direction of the gradient than orthogonal to it. This diffusion can be explained by a Stokes-Einstein treatment of the surface-adsorbed polymer.