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Ultrastructural fluctuations at nanoscale are fundamental to assessproperties and functionalities of advanced out-of-equilibrium materials. Wehave taken myelin as a model of supramolecular assembly in out-of-equilibriumliving matter. Myelin sheath is a simple stable multi-lamellar structure ofhigh relevance and impact in biomedicine. Although it is known that myelin hasa quasi-crystalline ultrastructure there is no information on its fluctuationsat nanoscale in different states due to limitations of the available standardtechniques. To overcome these limitations, we have used Scanning micro X-rayDiffraction, which is a non-invasive probe of both reciprocal and real space tovisualize statistical fluctuations of myelin order of the sciatic nerve ofXenopus Laevis. The results show that the ultrastructure period of the myelinis stabilized by large anti-correlated fluctuations at nanoscale, betweenhydrophobic and hydrophilic layers. The ratio between the total thickness ofhydrophilic and hydrophobic layers defines the conformational parameter, whichdescribes the different states of myelin. Our key result is that myelin in itsout-of-equilibrium functional state fluctuates point-to-point between differentconformations showing a correlated disorder described by a Levy distribution.As the system approaches the thermodynamic equilibrium in an aged state thedisorder loses its correlation degree and the structural fluctuationdistribution changes to Gaussian. In a denatured state at low pH, it changes toa completely disordered stage. Our results clarify also the degradationmechanism in biological systems by associating these states with variation ofthe ultrastructural dynamic fluctuations at nanoscale.

Nanoscale correlated disorder in out-of-equilibrium myelin ultrastructure