QELS studies of structure in model membranes

Abstract

Q uasi-elastic light scattering studies of model membranes have yielded much information on their structure and dynamics. Unusually, the q dependence of the dynamic structure factor S(q, w) carries no significant structural information. Instead the information on membrane structure has derived from changes in the scattered intensity as the membrane is passed through a phase transition or other change, or from fluctuations in the dynamic part of the scattering factor in situations where the signal is non-stationary. We concentrate here on the latter aspect, and consider the information on the structure ofvarious model membrane systems which has been gathered.