Our ten most recent publications

Liu, X., Auth, T., Hazra, N., Ebbesen, M. F., Brewer, J., Gompper, G., Crassous, J. J., and Sparr, E. (2023). Wrapping anisotropic microgel particles in lipid membranes: Effects of particle shape and membrane rigidity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(30), e2217534120.

Midya, J., Auth, T., and Gompper, G. (2023). Membrane-mediated interactions between nonspherical elastic particles. ACS nano, 17(3), 1935-1945.

Vutukuri, H. R., Hoore, M., Abaurrea-Velasco, C., van Buren, L., Dutto, A., Auth, T., Fedosov, D. A., Gompper, G., and Vermant, J. (2020). Active particles induce large shape deformations in giant lipid vesicles. Nature, 586(7827), 52-56.

Yu, Q., Dasgupta, S., Auth, T., and Gompper, G. (2020). Osmotic concentration-controlled particle uptake and wrapping-induced lysis of cells and vesicles. Nano letters, 20(3), 1662-1668.

Abaurrea-Velasco, C., Auth, T., and Gompper, G. (2019). Vesicles with internal active filaments: self-organized propulsion controls shape, motility, and dynamical response. New journal of physics, 21(12), 123024.

Ravichandran, A., Duman, Ö., Hoore, M., Saggiorato, G., Vliegenthart, G. A., Auth, T., and Gompper, G. (2019). Chronology of motor-mediated microtubule streaming. Elife, 8, e39694.

Abaurrea-Velasco, C. A., Abkenar, M., Gompper, G., and Auth, T. (2018). Collective behavior of self-propelled rods with quorum sensing. Physical Review E, 98(2), 022605.

Parasite-Host Invasion

We simulate the interaction of parasites with the plasma membranes of hosts. Within the DFG-funded SPP 2332 “Physics of Parasitism” , we focus on calculating forces for the invasion of apicomplexans into host cells. We collaborate with Anil Kumar Dasanna from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali.

Active Particles in Confinement

We characterize the structure and dynamics of active particles in confinement. Here, we consider the active particles as a generic model system to study self-organization in systems, from synthetic swimmers on the microscale to animals on the macroscale. The project is part of the Palestinian-German Science Bridge . We collaborate with Jiarul Midya from the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar.

Soft Particles at Membranes

We predict the wrapping states and shapes of soft particles at biological membranes. Currently, we contribute to the project “Interactions of soft responsive microgels with lipid membranes” within the DFG-funded SFB 985 “Microgels” . We collaborate with Jiarul Midya from the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar.

Active Vesicles

We study the structure and dynamics of vesicles that enclose self-propelled particles. Such active vesicles show shapes and conformations fluctuations reminiscent of biological cells. We focus on “flexocytes”, two-dimensional model systems mimicking cell motility in various environments.

Particles at Interfaces

We calculate interface deformations around particles at oil-water and air-water interfaces. The deformations induce interface-mediated interactions between the particles that lead to aggregation.

Synthetic cells: controlling shapes and movements

Learning from the cytoskeleton for the development of active materials

Blood cells in action

Shape matters