Filling an emulsion drop with motile bacteria

Phys Rev Lett. 2014 Dec 31;113(26):268101. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.268101. Epub 2014 Dec 22.

Abstract

We have measured the spatial distribution of motile Escherichia coli inside spherical water droplets emulsified in oil. At low cell concentrations, the cell density peaks at the water-oil interface; at increasing concentration, the bulk of each droplet fills up uniformly while the surface peak remains. Simulations and theory show that the bulk density results from a "traffic" of cells leaving the surface layer, increasingly due to cell-cell scattering as the surface coverage rises above ∼10%. Our findings show similarities with the physics of a rarefied gas in a spherical cavity with attractive walls.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Emulsions
  • Escherichia coli / physiology*
  • Models, Biological*
  • Oils / chemistry
  • Surface Properties
  • Swimming
  • Water / chemistry

Substances

  • Emulsions
  • Oils
  • Water