Herein, we assess the functionality of magnetic helical microswimmers as basic tools for the manipulation of soft materials, including microdroplets and single cells. Their ability to perform a range of unit operations is evaluated and the operational challenges associated with their use are established. In addition, we also report on interactions observed between the head of such helical swimmers and the boundaries of droplets and cells and discuss the possibilities of assembling an artificial swimming microorganism or a motorized cell.
Keywords: artificial bacterial flagella; artificial biological microorganism; bio inspired microrobotics; helical microswimmer; microfluidic droplet; motorized cell; single droplet manipulating.