Autonomous Intestine‐Like Motion of Tubular Self‐Oscillating Gel

Abstract

Totally tubular (chemical) wave! A tubular self-oscillating gel has been designed that converts the chemical energy of the Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction into a mechanical swelling–deswelling of the gel (see scheme). It exhibits peristaltic motion, similar to a living worm, with propagation of the chemical wave. In the gel tube, a bubble is autonomously transported by the peristaltic pumping motion.