Undulatory microswimming near solid boundaries

The hydrodynamic forces involved in the undulatory microswimming of the model organism C. elegans are studied in proximity to solid boundaries. Using a micropipette deflection technique, we attain direct and time-resolved force measurements of the viscous forces acting on the worm near a single plan...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysics of fluids (1994) Vol. 26; no. 10
Main Authors Schulman, R. D., Backholm, M., Ryu, W. S., Dalnoki-Veress, K.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Melville American Institute of Physics 01.10.2014
Subjects
Boundaries
Confinement
Drag coefficients
Drag measurement
Fluid dynamics
Gait
Mathematical models
Physics
Swimming
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The hydrodynamic forces involved in the undulatory microswimming of the model organism C. elegans are studied in proximity to solid boundaries. Using a micropipette deflection technique, we attain direct and time-resolved force measurements of the viscous forces acting on the worm near a single planar boundary as well as confined between two planar boundaries. We observe a monotonic increase in the lateral and propulsive forces with increasing proximity to the solid interface. We determine normal and tangential drag coefficients for the worm, and find these to increase with confinement. The measured drag coefficients are compared to existing theoretical models. The ratio of normal to tangential drag coefficients is found to assume a constant value of 1.5 ± 0.1(5) at all distances from a single boundary, but increases significantly as the worm is confined between two boundaries. In response to the increased drag due to confinement, we observe a gait modulation of the nematode, which is primarily characterized by a decrease in the swimming amplitude.
ISSN:1070-6631
1089-7666
DOI:10.1063/1.4897651