Surfactants

thumb|Detergents A detergent is a product for cleaning that contains surfactants plus other components. Detergents comprise surfactants as main functional components to remove hydrophobic grease or dirt by dispersing them in water. They often further comprise water (to facilitate application), builders (to soften water), enzymes (for breaking down proteins, fats, or starches), and dyes or fragrances (to improve the user's sensory experience).

thumb|Schematic diagram of a [[micelle of oil in aqueous suspension, such as might occur in an emulsion of oil in water. In this example, the surfactant molecules' oil-soluble tails project into the oil (blue), while the water-soluble ends remain in contact with the water phase (red).]]

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS or PFASs) are a group of synthetic organofluorine chemical compounds that have multiple fluorine atoms attached to an alkyl chain; 7 million such chemicals are listed in PubChem.

thumb|Phospholipids, such as this [[glycerophospholipid, have amphipathic character.|251x251px]] thumb|250px|right|Cross-section view of the structures that can be formed by phospholipids|biological amphiphiles in aqueous solutions. Unlike this illustration, micelles are usually formed by non-biological, single-chain, amphiphiles, soaps or detergents, since it is difficult to fit two chains into this shape

lipoprotein complex

thumb|400x400px|Cocamidopropyl betaine is an example of a betaine

measure of the degree to which a surfactant is hydrophilic or lipophilic

substance which makes it possible to form or maintain a uniform dispersion of a gaseous phase in a liquid or solid

bile from the gallbladder of a cow

Beractant, also known by the trade name of Survanta, is a modified bovine pulmonary surfactant containing bovine lung extract (phospholipids, neutral lipids, fatty acids, and bovine surfactant proteins), to which synthetic DPPC, tripalmitin and palmitic acid are added. The composition provides 25&nbsp;mg/mL phospholipids, 0.5 to 1.75&nbsp;mg/mL triglycerides, 1.4 to 3.5&nbsp;mg/mL free fatty acids, and <1.0&nbsp;mg/mL total surfactant proteins. As an intratracheal suspension, it can be used for the prevention and treatment of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. Survanta is manufactured by

kind of soap

Biosurfactant usually refers to surfactants of microbial origin. Most of the biosurfactants produced by microbes are synthesized extracellularly and many microbes are known to produce biosurfactants in large relative quantities. Some are of commercial interest. As a secondary metabolite of microorganisms, biosurfactants can be processed by the cultivation of biosurfactant producing microorganisms in the stationary phase on many sorts of low-priced substrates like biochar, plant oils, carbohydrates, wastes, etc. High-level production of biosurfactants can be controlled by regulation of environm

chemical compound

chemical compound

A hydrotrope is a compound that solubilizes hydrophobic compounds in aqueous solutions by means other than micellar solubilization. Typically, hydrotropes consist of a hydrophilic part and a hydrophobic part (similar to surfactants), but the hydrophobic part is generally too small to cause spontaneous self-aggregation. Hydrotropes do not have a critical concentration above which self-aggregation spontaneously starts to occur (as found for micelle- and vesicle-forming surfactants, which have a critical micelle concentration (CMC) and a critical vesicle concentration (CVC)). Instead, some hydrot

protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens