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Will Ethanol form micelles? |
No, it cannot form micelles because dirt particles are soluble in ethanol. It was found that methanol and ethanol destabilize the formation of both micelles and the protein detergent complex. {destabilize = can be moved easily}: no way - micelles form by the hydrophobic character of lipid tails but ethanol is not water and even though there is some polarity at the hydroxyl group it wouldn't be free enough (unobstructed) to push the fatty acids together - the ethanol chain would probably intermingle with the lipid chairs too. |