title: Biomembranes research using thermal and cold neutrons.
abstract: In 1932 James Chadwick discovered the neutron using a polonium source and a beryllium target (Chadwick, 1932). In a letter to Niels Bohr dated February 24, 1932, Chadwick wrote: "whatever the radiation from Be may be, it has most remarkable properties." Where it concerns hydrogen-rich biological materials, the "most remarkable" property is the neutron's differential sensitivity for hydrogen and its isotope deuterium. Such differential sensitivity is unique to neutron scattering, which unlike X-ray scattering, arises from nuclear forces. Consequently, the coherent neutron scattering length can experience a dramatic change in magnitude and phase as a result of resonance scattering, imparting sensitivity to both light and heavy atoms, and in favorable cases to their isotopic variants. This article describes recent biomembranes research using a variety of neutron scattering techniques.
authors.affiliation: Biology and Soft Matter Division, Neutron Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, United States; Joint Institute for Neutron Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, United States.
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Heberle
authors.affiliation: Biology and Soft Matter Division, Neutron Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, United States.
authors.forename: D A A
authors.initials: DAA
authors.lastname: Myles
authors.affiliation: Biology and Soft Matter Division, Neutron Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, United States; Joint Institute for Neutron Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, United States; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, United States. Electronic address: katsarasj@ornl.gov.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Katsaras
mesh_terms: D003903:Deuterium / Q000737:chemistry; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000032:analysis; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D009502:Neutrons; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D013696:Temperature; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D006859:Hydrogen; D003903:Deuterium