micelle

Examples of micelle in the following topics:

• Soaps & Detergents

  • The surfactant molecules reversibly assemble into polymolecular aggregates called micelles.
  • These micelles are often spherical in shape, but may also assume cylindrical and branched forms, as illustrated below.
  • A display of micelle formation is presented below.
  • Since the micelles of anionic amphiphiles have a negatively charged surface, they repel one another and the nonpolar dirt is effectively emulsified.
  • These divalent cations cause aggregation of the micelles, which then deposit as a dirty scum.

• Phospholipids

  • If a drop of phospholipids are placed in water, the phospholipids spontaneously forms a structure known as a micelle, with their hydrophilic heads oriented toward the water.
  • Micelles are lipid molecules that arrange themselves in a spherical form in aqueous solution.
  • The formation of a micelle is a response to the amphipathic nature of fatty acids, meaning that they contain both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions.

• Chemical Digestion of Carbohydrates, Proteins, Lipids, and Nucleic Acids

  • Lipid digestion involves the formation of micelles in the presence of bile salts, and the passage of micelles and fatty acids through the unstirred layer.

• Salt Formation

  • Depending on the nature of the hydrophilic portion these compounds may form monolayers on the water surface or sphere-like clusters, called micelles, in solution.

• Phospholipids

  • Because of the two pendant alkyl chains present in phospholipids and the unusual mixed charges in their head groups, micelle formation is unfavorable relative to a bilayer structure.
  • Unlike micelles, liposomes have both aqueous interiors and exteriors.

• Digestion and Absorption

  • The bile salts surround long-chain fatty acids and monoglycerides, forming tiny spheres called micelles.
  • The micelles move into the brush border of the small intestine absorptive cells where the long-chain fatty acids and monoglycerides diffuse out of the micelles into the absorptive cells, leaving the micelles behind in the chyme.

• Bile

  • Bile salts congregate around fat, separating them into small droplets called micelles.

• Anatomy of the Digestive System

  • The digestive enzymes break down proteins and bile and emulsify fats into micelles.

• Mechanisms of Chemical Digestion

  • Of particular importance in fat digestion and absorption are bile salts which emulsify the fats allowing for their solution as micelles in chyme, and increasing the surface area on which the pancreatic lipases can operate.

• Polysaccharides

  • Amylose solutions are actually dispersions of hydrated helical micelles.