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Science 9 December 1988:
Vol. 242. no. 4884, pp. 1406 - 1409
DOI: 10.1126/science.242.4884.1406
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Articles

X-ray Scattering Studies of Aligned, Stacked Surfactant Membranes

Eric B. Sirota 1, Gregory S. Smith 2, Cyrus R. Safinya 1, Robert J. Plano 1, and Noel A. Clark 3

1 Exxon Research and Engineering Company, Corporate Research Science Laboratories, Route 22 East, Annandale, NJ 08801
2 Exxon Research and Engineering Company, Corporate Research Science Laboratories, Route 22 East Annandale, NJ 08801, and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309
3 Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309

X-ray scattering studies were performed to understand the structure and correlations in the lamellar phases of thick, freely suspeded films of (i) the hydrated phospholipid dimyristoylphosphotidylcholine (DMPC) and (ii) the ternar system consisting of the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cosurfactant (pentanol), and water. The films were drawn in a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment, where the layers were oriented to within 0.1°. In the DMPC system, this made it possible to directly observe the orientation of the Pbeta' modulation and to identify phase Lbeta' as three distinct phases distinguished by the direction of chain tilt with respect to the lattice. In the Lagr phase of the ternary system, power law behavior of the (0,0,L) structure factor arising from the algebraic decay of layer correlatios was observed in single crystals.

Submitted on July 7, 1988
Accepted on September 30, 1988


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