Question

What are miscelles?

How are they related with soaps?

Answer 1

A micelle is an aggregate of surface molecules dispersed in a liquid colloid. A typical micelle in aqueous solution forms an aggregate with the hydrophilic"head" regions in contact with surrounding solvent, sequestering the hydrophobic single-tail regions in the micelle centre. This phase is caused by the packing behavior of single-tail lipids in a bilayer.



When greasy dirt or oil is mixed with soapy water, the soap molecules arrange themselves into tiny clusters called micelles. The water-loving (hydrophilic) part of the soap molecules sticks to the water and points outwards, forming the outer surface of the micelle.