title: Tubular growth and bead formation in the lyotropic lamellar phase of a lipid.
abstract: We use fluorescence confocal polarised microscopy (FCPM) to study tubular growth upon hydration of dry DOPC (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) in water and water-glycerol mixtures. We have developed a model to relate the FCPM intensity profiles to the multilamellar structures of the tubules. Insertion of an additional patch inside a tubule produces a beaded structure, while a straight configuration is retained if the growth is on the outside. We use a simple model to suggest that reduction in overall curvature energy drives bead formation.
authors.affiliation: Raman Research Institute, C. V. Raman Avenue, Bangalore 560080, India.
authors.forename: Tripta
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bhatia
authors.forename: Yashodhan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hatwalne
authors.forename: N V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Madhusudana
mesh_terms: D005990:Glycerol / Q000737:chemistry; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000737:chemistry; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008055:Lipids; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D014867:Water; C017251:1,2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine; D005990:Glycerol