Measurement of multilamellar onion dimensions under shear using frequency domain pulsed gradient NMR

We present a simple method by which the dimensions of shear-induced multilamellar vesicles (MLVs), also known as onions, can be measured during the shearing process itself. This approach is based on the use of a closely spaced train of magnetic field gradient pulses applied during a CPMG echo sequence. The CPMG train compensates flow effects while the frequency-dependence of apparent diffusion can reveal the onion size. We present here a simple phenomenological model for restricted diffusion in multilamellar vesicles, which may be used to interpret the resulting diffusion spectrum. We demonstrate this approach with MLVs formed from the lamellar phase of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in water and octanol.