From the microscopic filaments inside living cells to the movement of worms and snakes, active polymers are flexible structures that use energy to move and reshape themselves. Their behaviour challenges conventional polymer physics, revealing fascinating forms of motion, collective organisation, and material response.
In the Soft Matter group, we use living Tubifex tubifex worms and chains of self-propelled robots to investigate how active polymers move, entangle, and interact with their surroundings.
Navigating complex environments
How do flexible, self-propelled structures find their way through crowded spaces? By observing living worms moving through arrays of microscopic obstacles, we uncover how confinement and geometry influence the transport of active polymers.
Tracking active worm motion through a model porous environment.
When active polymers become entangled
When many active worms interact, their entanglements can dramatically change how the material flows and organises itself. We investigate how these interactions give rise to unusual rheological properties and spontaneous phase separation.
Research Highlights
Exploring the mechanics and collective behaviour of living polymer-like systems.
A. Deblais, S. Woutersen & D. Bonn · Physical Review Letters
Investigating how living, entangled worms respond to deformation, revealing the unusual mechanical properties of active polymer networks.
Read paper ↗A. Deblais, D. Bonn & S. Woutersen · Physical Review Letters
Demonstrating how physical entanglements between active worms can drive spontaneous clustering and phase separation without attractive interactions.
Read paper ↗Daniel Bonn · d.bonn@uva.nl ↗