Magnetocapillary self-assemblies: Swimming and micromanipulation

Floating magnetic particles can self-assemble into structures, by a combination of a magnetic dipole-dipole interaction and an attraction due to the interfacial deformation. These structures are periodically deformed in a non reciprocal way using magnetic fields, which leads to controllable low Reynolds number locomotion. Such microswimmers provide a basis for micromanipulation applications such as transport of micro-objects, local mixing of fluids or surface cleaning.