An investigation to determine the effect of detergent on cell membranes

To investigate the effect of detergent on Cell Membranes

Cell membranes are composed mainly of phospholipids. A cell membrane is a phospholipid bilayer, which acts as an effective barrier, controlling what substances enter and exit the cell. This property can be explained by the structure of phospholipids.
Phospholipids are composed of a hydrophilic head and a hydrophobic tail. When in water, all of the hydrophilic heads face outwards into the water and the hydrophobic tails face each other, shielded on either side by hydrophilic heads












As the hydrophobic tails create a non-polar interior, it is difficult for polar molecules, or ions, to pass through them and so acts as a barrier to most water-soluble substances. The phospholipid bilayer also prevents the contents of the cell from escaping.
If detergent is introduced to the phospholipid bilayer it gradually breaks down, allowing the interior contents to vacate the cell, which will inevitably ...