To gain a quantitative understanding of the release profiles, we considered a diffusion model in which the dye is transported through the mini-beaker (Schematic: Figure ) according to an effective diffusion coefficient, which quantitatively depends on the nanoscopic features of the mesophase. For the control mesophases, this parameter can be obtained by fitting the release profiles according to a formula based on standard Fickian diffusion (see Methods), yielding 𝐷 𝑐 = (3.49 ± 0.08) • 10 -8 cm 2 s - stars, red circles and dotted curves in Figure ). This ~7-fold difference has been similarly observed between V₂ and H₂ phases. In the presence of bacteria, the hydrolysis of monoolein results in a heterogeneous composition of mesophases, which gradually tune their nanoscopic arrangement from V₂→H₂ phase over the course of the release process. Moreover, since hydrolysis takes place at the exposed face of the mini-beaker, at any time, there may be a gradient of concentration of the resulting oleic acid which decreases further from the exposed face; this results in space-dependent relative populations of hexagonal and cubic phases.