Lipid Aggregate Structures,
con’t.
Micelles are characterized by a “critical micelle
concentration” (CMC)
This is the concentration of monomer in equilibrium
with the micelle
The CMC decreases as the hydrophobic part of the
molecule gets larger (i.e. as MW increases)
Detergents that form such micelles are used to
disrupt membrane and protein structures
See Figure 9.3