In lipid monolayer film we observed that the domains of the liquid-condensed phase may grow under continuous illumination of microscope light. This phenomenon occurred in the coexistence region of liquid-condensed (LC) and liquid-expanded phases. The average area per molecule in the monolayer film remained constant during the domain growth. By analyzing the growth behaviors of the LC domains carefully, we found that the observed domain growth arises from an illumination-related local mass transfer, which can be attributed to the light-induced damage to the fluorescence molecules; our previous explanation Wang et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 4003 (1993)] should be modified. Our results demonstrate the significant effect of the decomposed fluorescence molecules on the growth of the domains in the liquid-condensed phase. This effect may also be used to study the domain growth dynamics. © 1996 The American Physical Society.

• Received 1 September 1995

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.53.2580