Shear-induced alignment of ``bicellar'' phospholipid membranes

``Bicellar'' phospholipid mixtures, composed of two types of lipids (i.e., long-chain and short-chain lipids), self-assemble into a magnetically alignable bilayered structure. As a result, the model membranes have been used as membrane substrates for the structural study on membrane-associated proteins in many nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. In this presentation, I will demonstrate the shear-alignability of the bicellar model membranes through an in-situ neutron diffraction study under shear flows, the important controlling parameters and their applications and biological implications.