Detergent action

One-step clean-and-shine products have become popular in the household market. These products are appHed to the floor with a sponge mop and their detergent action removes and suspends soil, which coUects on the mop and is removed when the mop is rinsed with water. The formulation, which remains on the floor, dries to a poHsh film. An earlier product of this type was dispensed from an aerosol as a foam. Formulas as of this writing (ca 1995) are appHed as Hquids (29,30). In one product, the dried film obtained from the formulation is soluble in the formulation, which includes low molecular weight, high acid polymers and a fairly large amount of ammonia (31). Repeated use does not contribute to a buildup of poHsh. 

Many of the toxins obtained from coelenterates and echinoderms, because of their hemolytic or cytotoxic actions, are assumed to have a general disruptive action on cell membranes. However, since many of these toxins are capable of forming pores or channels in the plasma membrane of cells, their cytolytic actions may be a result of this highly selective action. On the other hand, the saponins from starfish and sea cucumbers have a direct lytic action as a result of their detergent action on the integrity of cells. 

Table 3, which summarizes some recent applications of detergents to solubilizing particulate plant proteins, provides an indication of the diversity of proteins that can be solubilized by detergent action. 

We also describe the spreading of a thin surfactant laden aqueous film on a hydrophilic solid, i.e., one in which the dynamic contact angle is small. In such a case, the osmotic pressure gradient generated by the nonuniform distribution of surfactant micelles in the liquid film can drive fhe spreading process. The mofivation for this study comes from the need to understand the detergent action involved in the removal of an oily soil from a soiled surface. This paper presents an overview of our recent work. 

Docusate acts by its detergent action which reduces the surface tension. 

Stool softeners Docusate sodium, 50-500 mg daily. Docusate calcium, 240 mg daily Colace, Kaopectate Stool Softener, various generic Softens fecal material via detergent action that allows water to penetrate stool. 

At pH values below 6, fatty acid soaps are completely hydrolyzed to insoluble fatty acids which have no detergent action. But some cleaning operations, specifically in the dairy industry, are best carried out with acid baths. Synthetic detergents have been developed which are stable under these conditions 22). 

Lecithins and related phospholipids usually contain a saturated fatty acid in the C-l position but an unsaturated acid, which may contain from one to four double bonds, at C-2. Arachidonic acid is often present here. Hydrolysis of the ester linkage at C-2 yields a l-acyl-3-phosphoglycerol, better known as a Iysophosphatidylcholine. The name comes from the powerful detergent action of these substances which leads to lysis of cells. Some snake venoms contain phospholipases that form Iysophosphatidylcholine. Lysophosphatidic acid (l-acyl-glycerol-3-phosphate) is both an intermediate in phospholipid biosynthesis (Chapter 21) and also a signaling molecule released into the bloodstream by activated platelets.15... 

The mechanism of detergent action will be considered in more detail in Chapter 18. 

Foams may contain not just gas and liquid (and usually surfactant), but also dispersed oil droplets and/or solid particles. Figure 1.5 shows a practical aqueous foam that contains dispersed oil droplets within the foam lamellae. This can occur, for example, when a foaming solution is used for detergent action in a cleaning process (see Section 12.2) or when a foam is propagated through an underground oil reservoir as part of an enhanced oil recovery process (See Section 11.2.2). 

This micelle is comprised of surfactant molecules consisting of long hydrocarbon tails attached to an anionic lyophilic group. Typically, there are 50-100 molecules in the micelle. Some counterions in the medium are adsorbed on the aggregate, whereas others form the diffuse ionic environment. Some workers believe that there is considerable penetration of the medium into the micelle. Micelles are important for detergent action, with oily dirt particles dissolved in the hydrocarbon interior of the micelle. 

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