Sideband holography can be used to get fields images (E0 and E1) of a vibrating object for both the carrier (E0) and the sideband (E1) frequency with respect to vibration. We propose here to record E0 and E1 sequentially, and to image the correlation E1E * 0 . We show that this correlation is insensitive the phase related to the object roughness and directly reflect the phase of the mechanical motion. The signal to noise can be improved by averaging the correlation over neighbor pixel. Experimental validation is made with vibrating cube of wood and with a clarinet reed. At 2 kHz, vibrations of amplitude down to 0.01 nm are detected.

When a straight rod is bent and suddenly released on one end, a burst of dispersive flexural waves propagates down the material as predicted by linear beam theories. However, we show that for ribbons with a longitudinal natural radius of curvature a0, geometrical constraints lead to strain localization which controls the dynamics. This localized region of deformation selects a specific curling deformation front which travels down the ribbon when initially flattened and released. Performing experiments on different ribbons, in air and in water, we show that initially, on length scales on the order of a0, the curling front moves as a power law of time with an exponent ranging from 0.5 to 2 for increasing values of the ribbons' width. At longer time scales, the material wraps itself at a constant speed Vr into a roll of radius R ≠ a0. The relationship between Vr and R is calculated by a balance between kinetic, elastic and gravitational energy and both internal and external powers dissipated. When gravity and drag are negligible, we observe that a0/R reaches a limiting value of 0.48 that we predict by solving the Elastica on the curled ribbon considering the centrifugal forces due to rotation. The solution we propose represents a solitary traveling curvature wave which is reminiscent to propagating instabilities in mechanics.

The complexation of siRNA (small interfering RNA) with cationic micelles was studied by time dependent synchrotron SAXS. Micelles were formed by two types of divalent cationic surfactants, i.e. Gemini bis (quaternary ammonium) bromide with variable spacer length (12-3-12, 12-6-12, 12-12-12) and a weak electrolyte surfactant (SH14) with triazine head. Immediately after mixing (t < 50 ms), new large aggregates appeared in solution and the scattering intensity at low q increased. Concomitantly, the presence of a quasi-Bragg peak at q ~ 1.5〖 nm〗^(-1) indicated core structuring within the complexes. We hypothesize that siRNA and micelles are alternately arranged into “sandwiches”, forming domains with internal structural coherence. The process of complex reorganization followed a first-order kinetics and was completed in less than about 5 minutes, after which a steady state was reached. Aggregates containing Geminis were compact globular structures whose gyration radii Rg depended on the spacer length and was in the order of 7-27 nm. Complexes containing SH14 (Rg =14-16 nm) were less ordered and possessed a loser internal arrangement. The obtained data, joint to previous structural investigation by Dynamic Light Scattering, Zeta potential and Small Angle Neutron Scattering, are encouraging evidence for using these systems in biological trials. In fact we showed that transfection agents can be obtained by simple mixing a micelle solution of the cationic surfactant and a siRNA solution, both of which are easily prepared and stable.