Growth mechanism of myelin figures of phosphatidylcholine.
The initial growth process of myelin figures, rod-like lyotropic liquid-crystalline structures, formed by phosphatidylcholine in water, ethylene glycol or glycerin, is suggested to be diffusion-limited with an apparent diffusion coefficient D of approx. 10(-6) cm2/s. D can be expressed by the sum of two processes. One is considered to describe the diffusion of an aggregate of phosphatidylcholine molecules and the other mainly to describe a lateral diffusion in the bilayer membranes which constitute myelin figures.
D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D004058:Diffusion; D008859:Microscopy, Polarization; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000502:physiology*; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000502:physiology*; D012996:Solutions; D014783:Viscosity
D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D012996:Solutions