Leiden University Physicists have 3D-printed a microscopic version of Star Trek’s USS Voyager as part of a larger research experiment on microswimmers. The shape is a significant factor affecting the motion and interactions of microswimmers, and that’s the main focus of this latest experiment.
Similar ‘microswimmer’ studies typically use sphere-shaped models for tests. However, the Leiden team developed more unique shapes to produce different results and push the limits of 3D-printing. All 3D-printed micro-objects (seen in the photo below) were imaged using a scanning electron microscope.
What are Microswimmers? They’re a broad scientific category used to classify objects and organisms that move through liquids. White blood cells or bacteria could be considered microswimmers, but so can synthetic items, such as the miniature Voyager or the 3D Benchy (claimed the world’s smallest tugboat) that the Leiden physicists also included in their study.
The starship, measuring only 15 micrometers long, propels through liquid via chemical reactions between the hydrogen peroxide solution the physicists placed it in and its platinum coating. Analyzing the movement of synthetic microswimmers can offer insight into their natural counterparts. The experiments revealed that particles created in a helix shape showed the quickest activity.
Daniela Kraft, the study’s co-author, said:
When it moves forward, often it needs to rotate, and that helps, for example, to speed it up. If you think about applications, if you want to have a little machine that goes somewhere, it might be more useful to have a helix shape because it swims faster.
The study, published on October 12 in the journal Soft Matter, concludes that 3D-microprinted models could be useful for further experiments, and the unusual shapes might offer more movement out of microswimmers than traditional cylinders and spheres. Most importantly, microswimmers could potentially be part of a targeted delivery system for drug treatments and other therapies.
