Investigating the mixing quality of a biological active nematic

Active matter consists of individual entities that consume energy and collectively move. Active matter systems can form emergent patterns. We study an active matter system composed of biomaterials that forms a self-mixing network with nematic liquid crystal characteristics. This active network system is composed of biopolymers (microtubules), and molecular motors (kinesin) confined in 2D at an oil-water interface. When confined in 2D, the network resembles an active nematic system that self-mixes. We are interested in quantifying the mixing quality by measuring the rate of separation of the filaments. We bound beads to the network, and measure the separation distance as a function of time for bead pairs. We found that the network exhibits exponential stretching, which may imply that it is a good mixer. We further investigate how changing the velocity in the system affects the mixing quality. We change the velocity of the filaments moving by altering the ATP concentration.