Inertial migration of toroid-like and worm-like polymer micelles in a rectangular nanochannel

This study combines the Lattice Boltzmann method with molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the inertial migration of toroid-like and worm-like micelles in rectangular nanochannels at low Reynolds numbers (Re) ranging from 0.000 075 to 0.014. We identify the critical Re for micelle breakage and analyze the equilibrium positions of the micelles at various Re. The results indicate that as Re increases, the equilibrium position of the micelles shifts farther from the central axis of the nanochannel. Due to a slight blockage, the equilibrium position of the worm-like micelles is closer to the corners of the nanochannel compared to the toroid-like micelles. Additionally, we observe conformational transitions during migration: toroid-like micelles deform from circular to elliptical shapes, while worm-like micelles adopt semi-toroidal shapes. We verify that the equilibrium position is influenced by Re, blockage ratio, and micelle shapes. These findings clarify the inertial migration behavior of toroid-like and worm-like micelles in nanochannels and provide a theoretical foundation for optimizing micelle-based drug delivery systems.