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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Size and shape of fast-tumbling bicelles as determined by translational diffusion
1Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, The Arrhenius Laboratories, Stockholm University, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract:
In this study, the size and shape of an isotropic bicelle have been determined by measuring the translational diffusion as a function of the volume fraction of the lipids. A linear relation between the diffusion coefficients is obtained for both DMPC and DHPC in the bicelles. The slope of this linear function, which is strongly shape-dependent, is found to be different for the two molecules. This difference is direct evidence that the two molecules are not fully mixed in the bicelle. The shape- combined with the size-dependence of the diffusion coefficient allows us to calculate both the size and shape of the bicelle.
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