Fig. 1: Experimental setup and propulsion mechanism.

a Schematic representation and photograph of our experimental setup that enables control of the direction and amplitude of an AC electric field in a microscopy chamber. A dimer is drawn in the center of the cross-shaped fluidic chamber, which aligns with the externally applied AC field through an induced dipole. For visualization, the fluidic chamber in the photograph is filled with a red dye. b Electrokinetic flow around a spherical particle arising in an AC electric field. c Expected electrokinetic flow around an asymmetric particle dimer in an AC electric field, which results in directed propulsion. d DNA modified colloids form a dimer through DNA hybridization. e Microscopy image of a particle dimer.