Driving magnetic colloidal polymers

ORAL

Abstract

Magnetic colloids are of growing interest for applications such as drug delivery and in vitro tissue growth. Recent experiments have synthesized 1D chains of magnetic colloids into permanent colloidal polymers. We study magnetic colloidal polymers theoretically and computationally under the influence of time-varying external fields and find a rich set of controllable, dynamic conformations. By iterating through a sequence of conformations, these polymers can perform mechanical functions. We discuss possible roles for these polymers beyond those considered for single colloids.

*This work was supported as part of the Center for Bio-Inspired Energy Science, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences under Award # DE-SC0000989

–

Authors

  • Joshua Dempster

    • Northwestern University

  • Monica Olvera de la Cruz

    • Northwestern University
    • Northwestern Univ
    • Northwstern University
    • Northwestern University Department of Materials Science
    • Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208