Question

A surfactant is a chemical that disrupts hydrophilic/hydrophobic interactions, letting normally hydrophobic things dissolve in water (this is how soap cleans grease!). If I have a bunch of enzymes dissolved in water and I add a surfactant, what will happen to the enzyme structure

Answer 1

Explanation:

A good surfactant is going to have a hydrophilic head and a long hydrophobic tail. As a result, a surfactant molecule contains both an insoluble water (or an oil-soluble component) and a water-soluble component. Surfactant molecules will migrate to the surface of the water, where the insoluble hydrophobic group may extend out of the bulk phase of the water, either into the air or, if the water is mixed with oil, into the oil Phase, while the water-soluble head group remains in the water phase. This alignment and aggregation of surfactant molecules at the surface is intended to alter the surface properties of water at the water / air or water / oil interface.