SURFACTANT

Surfactant

Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension between two liquids or between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, and dispersants.

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surfactant

Noun

  1. A surface active agent, or wetting agent, capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid; typically organic compounds having a hydrophilic "head" and a hydrophobic "tail".
  2. A lipoprotein in the tissues of the lung that reduces surface tension and permits more efficient gas transport.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: surfactant
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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