Lo Nostro Pierandrea, Murgia Sergio, Lagi Marco, Fratini Emiliano, Karlsson Göran, Almgren Mats, Monduzzi Maura, Ninham Barry W, Baglioni Piero
Department of Chemistry and CSGI, University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy.
J Phys Chem B. 2008 Oct 9;112(40):12625-34. doi: 10.1021/jp803983t. Epub 2008 Sep 11.
Aqueous dispersions of the phospholipid dioctanoylphosphatidylcholine (diC 8PC) phase-separate below a cloud-point temperature, depending on lipid concentration. The lower phase is viscous and rich in lipid. The structure and dynamics of this system were explored via cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and NMR. The lower phase comprises a highly interconnected tridimensional network of wormlike micelles. A molecular mechanism for the phase separation is suggested.
