Likewise, the lowest temperature at which micelles are formed is called Critical Micelle Temperature (CMT).
At any concentrations lower than the CMC, only monomers are observed at concentrations higher than CMC both micelles and monomers co-exist, along with other non-micellar phases that are not dissolved in water. The minimal detergent concentration at which micelles are observed at a given temperature is called the Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC). Both temperature and concentration are important parameters of phase separation and solubility of a detergent. The length of the hydrophobic region is directly proportional to the degree of hydrophobicity, and it is quite constant among detergents, while the charged headgroup is variable. The number of detergent molecules in a micelle is called the aggregation number, an important parameter used to assess membrane protein solubility. The similarity in molecular structures allows the detergent to penetrate phospholipid bilayers and thus disrupt cell membranes.įurthermore, the hydrophobic core of the micelle can bind to hydrophobic regions of proteins (Fig 1B). 1C) while phospholipids are more likely to develop a bilayer (Fig 1D).
Due to their molecular differences, detergent molecules form spherical micelles(Fig. When dissolved in water at appropriate concentrations and temperatures amphiphilic molecules self-assemble into structures that keep their hydrophilic headgroups on the exterior and the hydrophobic tails on the interior away from the water. This molecular structure is very similar to the amphiphilic phospholipids that make up our cellular membranes, except that the phospholipids possess pair hydrophobic tails attached to the hydrophilic headgroup (Fig 1D).
Detergents are amphiphilic organic compounds comprised of a hydrophobic non-polar hydrocarbon moiety (tail) and a hydrophilic polar headgroup (Fig.
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