Work

Morphodynamics of surface-attached active drops

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Many biological and synthetic systems are suspensions of oriented actively-moving components. Unlike in passive suspensions, the interplay between orientational order, active flows, and interactions with boundaries gives rise to fascinating new phenomena in such active suspensions. Here, we examine the paradigmatic example of a surface-attached drop of an active fluid (an "active drop"), which has so far only been studied in the idealized limit of thin drops. We find that such surface-attached active drops can exhibit a wide array of stable steady-state shapes and internal flows that are far richer than those documented previously, depending on boundary conditions and the strength of active stresses. Our analysis uncovers quantitative principles to predict and even rationally control the conditions under which these different states arise-yielding design principles for next-generation active materials.

Source: Nature Communications

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-68235-w

Authors: Alejandro Martínez-Calvo, Sujit S. Datta

Institutions: Princeton University, California Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Micro and Nano Robotics

Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $6,990

Funder: Human Frontier Science Program