Journal
QUARTERLY REVIEWS OF BIOPHYSICS
Volume 41, Issue 3-4, Pages 205-264Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S0033583508004721
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Surfactants are surface-active, amphiphilic compounds that are water-soluble in the micro- to millimolar range, and self-assemble to form micelles or other aggregates above a critical concentration. This definition comprises synthetic detergents as well as amphiphilic peptides and lipopeptides, bile salts and many other compounds. This paper reviews the biophysics of the inter-actions of surfactants with membranes of insoluble, naturally occurring lipids. It discusses structural, thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of membrane-water partitioning, changes in membrane properties induced by surfactants, membrane solubilisation to micelles and other phases formed by lipid-surfactant systems. Each section defines and derives key parameters, mentions experimental methods for their measurement and compiles and discusses published data. Additionally, a brief overview is given of surfactant-We effects in biological systems, technical applications of surfactants that involve membrane interactions, and surfactant-based protocols to study biological membranes.
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