Bubble-based Acoustic Micropropulsion: Mixing and Advanced Swimmers

Abstract eng:
Acoustic microswimmers present great potential for microfluidic applications and targeted drug delivery. Here we introduce armoured microbubbles (size range, 10-20 m) made by three-dimensional microfabrication which allows the bubbles to last for hours even under forced oscillations. The acoustic resonance of the armoured microbubbles is found to be dictated by capillary forces and not by gas volume, and its measurements agree with a theoretical calculation. This flow, a consequence of steady streaming in the fluid, can reach 100 mm/s. A collection of devices is fabricated and can be used inside microchannels for efficient mixing. Complex shapes are also achieved, with devices containing multiple bubbles. A direct application is to build multidirection microswimmers, each bubble having a different resonance frequency that can be excited by scanning frequencies with the broadband acoustic source.

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