title: Freeze fracture direct imaging of a viscous surfactant mesophase.
abstract: Freeze fracture direct imaging (FFDI) has been used to image microstructures present in a highly viscous four-component mesophase containing water, isooctane, AOT [bis(2-ethylhexyl) sodium sulfosuccinate], and lecithin. As water is added to a fixed amount of a ternary solution of isooctane and the two surfactants, the microstructure evolves from a water-in-oil microemulsion, to a highly viscous columnar hexagonal, and then to multilamellar vesicles. Each of these microstructures is imaged directly. Previous small-angle neutron scattering measurements have identified the lamellar phase, but the FFDI technique demonstrates that these are onionlike curved multilamellar structures rather than planar bilayers. Freeze fracture direct imaging expands the range of cryo-transmission microscopy to highly viscous, high-organic-content systems that typically have been difficult to visualize.
authors.forename: Vivek
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.forename: Mohit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: McPherson
authors.forename: Vijay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: John
authors.forename: Arijit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bose
mesh_terms: D005614:Freeze Fracturing; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D013501:Surface-Active Agents