Grančič Peter, Štěpánek František
Chemical Robotics Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czech Republic.
Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2012 Jul;86(1 Pt 1):011916. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.86.011916. Epub 2012 Jul 18.
Active targeting by Brownian particles in a fluid-filled porous environment is investigated by computer simulation. The random motion of the particles is enhanced by diffusiophoresis with respect to concentration gradients of chemical signals released by the particles in the proximity of a target. The mathematical model, based on a combination of the Brownian dynamics method and a diffusion problem is formulated in terms of key parameters that include the particle diffusiophoretic mobility and the signaling threshold (the distance from the target at which the particles release their chemical signals). The results demonstrate that even a relatively simple chemical signaling scheme can lead to a complex collective behavior of the particles and can be a very efficient way of guiding a swarm of Brownian particles towards a target, similarly to the way colonies of living cells communicate via secondary messengers.
通过计算机模拟研究了在充满流体的多孔环境中布朗粒子的主动靶向。相对于目标附近粒子释放的化学信号的浓度梯度，粒子的随机运动通过扩散泳得到增强。基于布朗动力学方法和扩散问题相结合的数学模型，是根据包括粒子扩散泳迁移率和信号阈值（粒子释放其化学信号时与目标的距离）在内的关键参数制定的。结果表明，即使是相对简单的化学信号方案也能导致粒子的复杂集体行为，并且可以是引导一群布朗粒子朝向目标的非常有效的方式，类似于活细胞群体通过第二信使进行通信的方式。
