Dynamics of nanofibres conveyed by low Reynolds number flow in a microchannel

In this paper we aim to create an experimental and numerical model of nano and micro filaments suspended in a confined Poiseuille flow. The experimental data obtained for short nanofibres will help to elucidate fundamental questions concerning mobility and deformation of biological macromolecules due to hydrodynamic stresses from the surrounding fluid motion. Nanofibres used in the experiments are obtained by electrospinning polymer solutions. Their typical dimensions are 100–1000 μm (length) and 0.1–1 μm (diameter). The nanofibre dynamics is followed experimentally under a fluorescence microscope. A precise multipole expansion method of solving the Stokes equations, and its numerical implementation are used to construct a bead-spring model of a filament moving in a Poiseuille flow between two infinite parallel walls. Simulations show typical behaviour of elongated macromolecules. Depending on the parameters, folding and unfolding sequences of a flexible filament are observed, or a rotational and translation motion of a shape-preserving filament. An important result of our experiments is that nanofibres do not significantly change their shape while interacting with a micro-flow. It appeared that their rotational motion is better reproduced by the shape-preserving Stokesian bead model with all pairs of beads connected by springs, omitting explicit bending forces.