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The particles are bilayer rectangular microscale prisms made from a thermoresponsive hydrogel and a non-swelling glassy polymer; temperature shifts near the hydrogel phase transition drive large curvature changes and alter effective polarizability. Under AC electric fields, geometry–polarizability coupling enables programmable linear and helical modes, while sequential temperature programming produces encoded in situ steering and reconfigurable locomotion.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/shape-morphing-active-particles-with-invertible-effective-polarizability-for-congurable-locomotion-and-steering/450259/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/shape-morphing-active-particles-with-invertible-effective-polarizability-for-congurable-locomotion-and-steering/450259.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Miles","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-06","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What problem do the authors address in existing active-particle systems?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Most active particle systems are geometrically rigid, limiting their ability to change shape in response to external stimuli. The work targets the lack of controlled shape transformations that alter motion based on environmental cues.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How do the particles change shape, and what triggers it?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Temperature changes near the hydrogel phase transition cause large curvature shifts, transforming flat plate-like structures into crescent shapes (and related geometries) while simultaneously changing effective polarizability.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How does AC electric-field coupling enable controllable propulsion and steering?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"AC electric fields couple particle geometry with effective polarizability, breaking time-reversal symmetry through temperature-dependent microscale fluid flows. Sequential temperature changes then encode in situ steering, enabling programmable linear and helical propulsion modes.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},450259,1790766985,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},13056703019404,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","Article [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65482-9](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65482-9)  \nShape-morphing active particles with invertible effective polarizability for configurable locomotion and steering  \nReceived: 12 March 2025  \n\n| Accepted: 16 October 2025 |\n| --- |\n| |\n| Check for updates |\n\nJin Gyun Lee1,5, Seog-Jin Jeon 1,2,5, Alanna R. Duarte1, Matthew Ticknor3, Montana B. Minnis1, Ryan C. Hayward 1,3  & C. Wyatt Shields IV 1,3,4   \nActive particles are analogs of microorganisms in that they locally dissipate energy to propel in low Reynolds number fluids. However, most active particles lack the ability to undergo controlled shape transformations that change how they move in response to environmental cues. Here, we present a class of stimuli-responsive active particles that exhibit fully reversible, shapedependent propulsion. The particles consist of a bilayer ofathermoresponsive hydrogel and a non-swelling glassy polymer, patterned into rectangular microscale prisms. Temperature changes near the phase transition of hydrogel cause large curvature shifts, from flat plates at 35 °C to crescent shapes at 20 °C, accompanied by changes in effective polarizability. When powered by AC electric fields, this coupling between geometry and polarizability enables programmable propulsion modes including linear and helical motions. Sequential temperature changes allow encoded in situ steering, establishing a design principle for microscale active systems capable of adaptive propulsion and reconfiguration.  \nMicroorganisms adapt their shape in response to their environment, enhancing their proliferation and survival1–4. For instance, Tetrahymena thermophila, a unicellular organism within the ciliated Protozoa group, swims upwards, forming dense swarms near the surface of water where oxygen, food, and light are more abundant. Initially, cultures of Tetrahymena thermophila exposed to infrared light grow normally, but as food becomes scarce, the cells elongate into spindles, swim 50% faster than their normal counterparts, and follow straighter paths toward food sources5. This increased motility is crucial for their formation, growth, and survival.  \nActive particles are synthetic analogs of microorganisms by mimicking some of their dissipative behaviors6–9. Particularly, selfphoretic active particles create local gradients of energy along their surfaces, driving asymmetric fluid flows at the single-particle level10–15. Their mechanism of motion is inherent in their design, as they  \nasymmetrically draw and dispel energy, generating local gradients of force that propel them16–20. Active particles hold enormous promise for applications such as drug delivery21–24, biosensing25,26, and environmental remediation27,28. Despite their usefulness, most active particle systems developed to date are geometrically rigid, unable to change their shape in response to external stimuli due to difficulties in fabricating and controlling shape-morphing soft materials at the microscale29. We note one intriguing exception involving clusters of swelling and non-swelling microspheres that undergo electrokinetic propulsion16. Recently, stimuli-responsive polymers that change properties in response to environmental conditions have led to applications as smart materials30–34, including biomedical devices32,35–39, flexible electronics40–43, sensors44–46, and actuators47–50.  \nIn this article, we present a class of shape-morphing active particles fabricated by layering a rigid polymer with a thermoresponsive  \n1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA. 2Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi-si, Gyeongbuk, Republic of Korea. 3Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA. 4Biomedical Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA. 5These authors contributed equally: Jin  \nGyun Lee, Seog","cbCaihW93IMsEMCe","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihW93IMsEMCe","pdf",3984295,13,"English","# Introduction\n## Biological and synthetic active-matter motivation\n## Gap in rigid active-particle designs\n# Proposed approach and particle construction\n## Bilayer stimulus-responsive microscale prisms\n## Model system and geometric morphing\n# Driving and control mechanism\n## AC-field alignment and effective polarizability\n## Temperature-programmed propulsion and steering\n# Context within microscale locomotion theory","[{\"question\":\"What problem do the authors address in existing active-particle systems?\",\"answer\":\"Most active particle systems are geometrically rigid, limiting their ability to change shape in response to external stimuli. The work targets the lack of controlled shape transformations that alter motion based on environmental cues.\"},{\"question\":\"How do the particles change shape, and what triggers it?\",\"answer\":\"Temperature changes near the hydrogel phase transition cause large curvature shifts, transforming flat plate-like structures into crescent shapes (and related geometries) while simultaneously changing effective polarizability.\"},{\"question\":\"How does AC electric-field coupling enable controllable propulsion and steering?\",\"answer\":\"AC electric fields couple particle geometry with effective polarizability, breaking time-reversal symmetry through temperature-dependent microscale fluid flows. Sequential temperature changes then encode in situ steering, enabling programmable linear and helical propulsion modes.\"}]","Shape-morphing active particles with invertible effective polarizability for configurable locomotion and steering | PDF",1790732656,33]