Surfactants from biologically derived

Existing and Potential Classes of Surfactants from Biologically Derived Metabolites... 

Fullerenes and their derivatives are of broad interest in various fields ranging from ferromagnetism [87] over their application as possible HIV inhibitors [88] to tumor-therapeutic active substance in biological systems [89]. Although C6o is insoluble in water, dissolution may be accomplished by using water-soluble polymers [90] or surfactant solutions containing amphiphilic block-copolymers [91], micelles or liposomes [92, 93]. The immobilization of... 

Surfactants have been used for over 1000 years in everyday applications, for example as emulsifiers in cleaning and in foods. They occur widely in nature, where as a bilayer they constitute a vital structural unit of biological membranes. Their functionality derives from the molecular structure, with a polar (hydrophilic) head-group, which conveys water-solubility, being attached to a non-polar (hydrophobic) tail, which drives the formation of self-assembled aggregates (micelles). Other chapters in this volume detail the wide variety of chemical structures that can form the polar groups (ionic, nonionic, zwitterionic, etc.) and tail structures. 

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