micelle
[mi-sel´] a supermolecular colloid particle, most often a packet of chain molecules in parallel arrangement.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
mi·celle
(mi-sel', mī-sel'), 1. Nägeli term for elongated sub(light)microscopic particles, detected in hydrogels, of supramolecular character and crystalline structure; now defined as one of two classes of colloidal particle: those consisting of many molecules, the other class being single macromolecules light- or submicroscopic in size. A micelle is thus a structural unit of the disperse phase in a gel, a unit whose repetition in three dimensions constitutes the micellar structure of the gel; it does not denote the individual particles in free suspension or solution, or the unit structure of a crystal.
2. Any water-soluble aggregate, spontaneously and reversibly, formed from amphiphile molecules.
3. A hypothetical ordered region in a natural fiber such as cellulose.
[L. micella, small morsel, dim. of mica, morsel, grain]
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
micelle
(mī-sĕl′)n. A submicroscopic aggregation of molecules, as a droplet in a colloidal system.
mi·cel′lar (-sĕl′ər) adj.
The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
micelle
Chemistry
An organised component of colloidal suspensions, consisting of spherical or laminar aggregates of polar surface-active molecules (soaps). The hydrophilic portion of the molecule interacts with the other members of the aqueous solution (i.e., are oriented outside in water); the hydrophobic ends huddle together within the micelle.
Micelles of the small intestine are composed of bile salts with fatty acids and monoglycerides released by pancreatic lipase.
Molecular biology
The structure formed by amphipathic molecules in solution, which places the polar group toward the solution and the hydrophobic group toward the interior.Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
micelle
a cluster of phospholipid molecules in the gut which are dispersed by the action of BILE salts.Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005
mi·celle
(mi-sel') 1. Elongated sub(light)microscopic particles, detected in hydrogels, of supramolecular character and crystalline structure.
2. Any water-soluble aggregate, spontaneously and reversibly, formed from amphiphile molecules.
3. A hypothetical ordered region in a natural fiber such as cellulose.
[L. micella, small morsel, dim. of mica, morsel, grain]
Medical Dictionary for the Dental Professions © Farlex 2012