Can you define micelles?

99 Views|Posted 9 years ago
2 Answers
Lalit Bhandari
9 years ago
Hi Tanmay, In aqueous solution, molecules having both polar or charged groups and non-polar regions (Amphiphilic molecules) form aggregates called micelles. In a micelle, polar or ionic heads form an outer shell in contact with water, while non polar tails are sequestered in the interior. Hence, th

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Smriti Vats
9 years ago
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 center. This phase is caused by the packing behavior of single-tail lipids in a bilayer.

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2 Comments
2 Comments
Micelles are lipid molecules that arrange themselves in a spherical form in aqueous solutions. The formation of a micelle is a response to the amphipathic nature of fatty acids, meaning that they contain both hydrophilic regions (polar head groups) as well as hydrophobic regions (the long hydrophobi

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