Vesicle to micelle transitions in surfactant mixtures induced by shear

Small angle neutron scattering data from aqueous solutions of mixtures of a catanionic surfactant and a detergent at rest and under shear flow are presented. These data show a shear-induced vesicle to worm-like micelle transition. A thermodynamic model of the vesicle to micelle transition in lipid-detergent mixtures is extended to include shear effects. Predictions of the extended model are compared with the shear dependence of the micelle volume fraction estimated from scattering experiments. The experimental results agree qualitatively with the predictions.