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Updated: May 27, 2026

Spontaneous Formation and Rearrangement of Artificial Lipid Nanotube Networks as a Bottom-Up Model for Endoplasmic Reticulum
Published on: January 22, 2019
Structural signature of a brittle-to-ductile transition in self-assembled networks
Laurence Ramos1, Arnaud Laperrousaz, Philippe Dieudonné
1Université Montpellier 2, Laboratoire Charles Coulomb UMR 5221, F-34095, Montpellier, France. laurence.ramos@univ-montp2.fr
Abstract:
We study the nonlinear rheology of a novel class of transient networks, made of surfactant micelles of tunable morphology reversibly linked by block copolymers. We couple rheology and time-resolved structural measurements, using synchrotron radiation, to characterize the highly nonlinear viscoelastic regime. We propose the fluctuations of the degree of alignment of the micelles under shear as a probe to identify a fracture process. We show a clear signature of a brittle-to-ductile transition in transient gels, as the morphology of the micelles varies, and provide a parallel between the fracture of solids and the fracture under shear of viscoelastic fluids.
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