Kinetic pathway of the bilayered-micelle to perforated-lamellae transition.

National Research Council, Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, Bldg. 459, Stn. 18, Chalk River, Ontario, Canada K0J 1J0~Received 6 September 2002; revised manuscript received 1 April 2003; published 30 June 2003!Using time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering, we have studied the kinetics of the recently observedbilayered-micelle~or so-called ‘‘bicelle’’! to perforated-lamellar transition in phospholipid mixtures. The datasuggest that phase-ordering occurs via the early-time coalescence of bicelles into stacks of lamellae that thenswell. Our measurements on this biomimetic system highlight the ubiquitous role of transient metastable statesin the phase ordering of complex fluids.DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.67.060902 PACS number~s!: 87.16.Dg, 87.14.Cc, 64.70.Md, 61.12.2q