On the stability and growth of single myelin figures

Abstract

Myelin figures are long thin cylindrical structures that typically grow as a dense tangle when water is added to the concentrated lamellar phase of certain surfactants. We show that, starting from a well-ordered initial state, single myelin figures can be produced in isolation thus allowing a detailed study of their growth and stability. These structures grow with their base at the exposed edges of bilayer stacks from which material is transported into the myelin. Myelins only form and grow in the presence of a driving stress; when the stress is removed, the myelins retract.