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Janus Particles as Body Submarines?

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the beginning-to-see-the-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "Janus particles, which take their name from a Roman god with two faces, are microscopic 'two-faced' spheres whose halves are physically or chemically different. Now, U.S. researchers have shown that some of these Janus microparticles can move like stealthy submarines when an alternating electrical field is applied to liquid surrounding them. This could lead to new kinds of self-propelling microsensors or means of targeted drug delivery."

1 of 42 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Soap? by Schiphol · · Score: 5, Informative

    Soap molecules are not spherical, really. They are more of like a match, with a lipophobic head and a lipophile body. Now, when they help dissolve fat in water, a number of molecules tend to form spheres, leaving the fat inside, This phenomenon has been exploited for ages to, ehm, wash dishes and the like. Also, a more sophisticated version of this idea has also been around for quite some time: liposomes.

    The idea behind TFA is using spheres with two halves. Sort of a dipole that may move around under the effect of an electric field (if I got it right).