Advanced Membranes

Complex arrangements of amphiphilic molecules

If a sufficiently large number of amphiphilic molecules are added to either oil, water, or and oil/water mixture then many more exotic structures than a simple monolayer are possible. We have already seen the micelle structure and monlayers may break up into a series of independent layers. However even more complex structures can form...

micelles of various shapes, tubes packed hexagonally,
[Diagram of various micelles] [Diagram of tube structure]
a disordered but connected structure, `plumbers nightmare' structure.
[Diagram of random continuous structure] [Diagram of plumbers nightmare structures]

In all of these arrangements we say that there are amphiphilic membranes separating the oil and the water. The `plumber's nightmare' is a particularly incredible structure and is a regular array of completely interconnected tubes. Imagine water outside the surface, oil inside, and then you can see that all the water is continuous and all the oil is continuous throughout the structure.

SEE: How do amphiphilic molecules manage to self-assemble into layers and into micelles?

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