Chemists, physicists and computer scientists at the
University of Warwick have come together to devise a new powerful and very
versatile way of controlling the speed and direction of motion of microscopic
structures in water using what they have dubbed chemically ‘motorised
microscopic matchsticks’.
Before now most research seeking to influence the direction
of motion of microscopic components have had to use outside influences such as
a magnetic field or the application of light. The University of Warwick team
have now found a way to do it by simply adding a chemical in a specific spot
and then watching the microscopic matchstick particles move towards it, a
phenomenon known as chemotaxis.