= Detergent
A <detergent> is a substance or formulation that assists cleaning, commonly through <surfactants> with water-compatible and oil-compatible molecular regions. These molecules collect at interfaces and can form <micelles> that help disperse oily material in water. Agitation, concentration and the composition of both the soil and washing solution affect the process.
A simple comparison is to shake an oil-water mixture with and without a suitable detergent and observe how readily droplets disperse and how long they persist. Lowering <surface tension> can improve wetting, while adsorption and aggregation change how oily material is carried away. Stable dispersion and removal are different steps: the surrounding fluid must still transport the dispersed material.
Detergents can also disrupt a <lipid bilayer>. In a <protease protection assay>, removing that membrane barrier tests whether it caused the apparent protection of an enclosed protein.
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