Growth of large liquid crystalline domains of phospholipids at air-water interfaces

Abstract The fusion of condensed phase domains in a fluid environment in monolayers is studied. A system of electrodes permits the non-invasive and predetermined movement of single domains while the film is observed by fluorescence microscopy. Two domains fuse when they are brought into contact with special positions of their borderlines. The experiment yields information about the molecular structure of the domains and allows us to fabricate very large domains. The equilibrium size is estimated and verified.