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Chemotaxis. Thomas E. Mallouk, Pennsylvania State Univ University Park, DMR 0213623.
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Chemotaxis Thomas E. Mallouk, Pennsylvania State Univ University Park, DMR 0213623 Penn State MRSEC researchers have discovered that bimetallic gold/platinum nanorod motors spontaneously move towards hydrogen peroxide fuel when they are placed in a fuel gradient, the first time this behavior has been seen outside of the biological world. Chemical signaling and chemically powered movement are ubiquitous in biology. The discovery and control of similar phenomena in artificial motor systems represents an important milestone in understanding and mimicking the fundamental mechanisms of biological motility. Time-lapse optical micrographs showing Au-Pt bimetallic nanomotors, which appear as black specks, moving in solution towards a gel that is saturated with fuel solution. Physical Review Letters 99, 178103 (2007) Work performed by Y. Hong, N. M. K. Blackman, N. D. Kopp, A. Sen and D. Velegol in IRG 2 of the Penn State MRSEC Center for Nanoscale Science, under DMR-0213623