Selective particle capture by asynchronously beating cilia

Selective particle filtration is fundamental in many engineering and biological systems. For example, many aquatic microorganisms use filter feeding to capture food particles from the surrounding fluid, using motile cilia. One of the capture strategies is to use the same cilia to generate feeding currents and to intercept particles when the particles are on the downstream side of the cilia. Here, we develop a 3D computational model of ciliary bands interacting with flow suspended particles and calculate particle trajectories for a range of particle sizes. Consistent with experimental observations, we find optimal particle sizes that maximize capture rate. The optimal size depends nonlinearly on cilia spacing and cilia coordination, synchronous vs. asynchronous. These parameters affect the cilia-generated flow field, which in turn affects particle trajectories. The low capture rate of smaller particles is due to the particles’ inability to cross the flow streamlines of neighboring cilia. Meanwhile, large particles have difficulty entering the sub-ciliary region once advected downstream, also resulting in low capture rates. The optimal range of particle sizes is enhanced when cilia beat asynchronously. These findings have potentially important implications on the design and use of biomimetic cilia in processes such as particle sorting in microfluidic devices.