Amhiphilic Membranes: Structure and Dynamics as Revealed by Neutron Scattering

Understanding the organization and the dynamics of amphiphilic membranes in solution is meaningful from various perspectives. From a fundamental point of view, simple amphipilic membranes provide a basis for interpreting the properties of biological cell membranes. From a practical perspective, the quality of the products based on amphiphilic surfactants can be continuously improved. Neutron scattering provides a valuable method of investigation -at mesoscopic scales- of both structure and dynamics of amphiphilic membranes. The above ideas will be illustrated by examples. In particular it will be shown what can be learned about the elastic properties of liquid membranes from neutron scattering experiments, and how are these properties affected by the presence of membrane-anchored block-copolymers.

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Last modified 20-November-2002