The hydrodynamics of swimming microorganisms
2008/12/15 by Eric Lauga, Thomas R Powers, Thomas Powers +1 · 2,494 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Active matter #Biology #Classical mechanics #Flow (mathematics) #Inertia #Kinematics #Mechanics #Micro and Nano Robotics #Microfluidic and Bio-sensing Technologies #Molecular Communication and Nanonetworks #Physics #Reynolds number #Scale (ratio) #Turbulence #cond-mat.soft #physics.bio-ph #physics.flu-dyn
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0034-4885/72/9/096601
published in Reports on Progress in Physics 72(9), 096601 (IOP Publishing) · Review article
arxiv created 2008/12/15 · openalex publication_date 2009/08/25 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Abstract
Cell motility in viscous fluids is ubiquitous and affects many biological processes, including reproduction, infection and the marine life ecosystem. Here we review the biophysical and mechanical principles of locomotion at the small scales relevant to cell swimming, tens of micrometers and below. At this scale, inertia is unimportant and the Reynolds number is small. Our emphasis is on the simple physical picture and fundamental flow physics phenomena in this regime. We first give a brief overview of the mechanisms for swimming motility, and of the basic properties of flows at low Reynolds number, paying special attention to aspects most relevant for swimming such as resistance matrices for solid bodies, flow singularities and kinematic requirements for net translation. Then we review classical theoretical work on cell motility, in particular early calculations of swimming kinematics with prescribed stroke and the application of resistive force theory and slender-body theory to flagellar locomotion. After examining the physical means by which flagella are actuated, we outline areas of active research, including hydrodynamic interactions, biological locomotion in complex fluids, the design of small-scale artificial swimmers and the optimization of locomotion strategies.
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