micelle

American  

[mi-sel] / mɪˈsɛl /

noun

1. Physical Chemistry.  an electrically charged particle formed by an aggregate of molecules and occurring in certain colloidal electrolyte solutions, as those of soaps and detergents.

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micelle British  

/ mɪˈsɛl, mɪˈsɛlə /

noun

1. chem

   1. a charged aggregate of molecules of colloidal size in a solution

   2. any molecular aggregate of colloidal size, such as a particle found in coal

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Other Word Forms

• micellar adjective
• micellarly adverb

Etymology

Origin of micelle

1880–85; < New Latin mīcella, equivalent to Latin mīc ( a ) crumb, grain + -ella -elle

Example Sentences

The soap does this because it acts as bridge between the water and what is being cleaned away, by binding them and wrapping them into those micelle structures.

From Science Daily

If a micelle was a petal, the assembly was the flower.

From Washington Post

By introducing a cobalt complex into the core and a rhodium complex into the outer shell, the micelle can catalyse two reactions to transform alkynes into chiral alcohols.

From Scientific American

When the green blinks off and the red blinks on, the micelle glows red.

From Scientific American

"The concept of the micelle may be new for the electrolyte, but it's actually very common for our daily life," Qi said.

From Science Daily