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Geenie Chiravanich

How Soap Works: The Fight Against COVID-19

We currently have over two-hundred thousand cases of the COVID-19 around the world. With the sudden deaths of loved ones, closures of local restaurants, and implementation of martial law, the people are begging the government for answers. Our leaders, on the other hand, are asking for us to put an end to this pandemic with one weapon: soap.


However, the naturally inquisitive nature of humans brings about an important question: why should we trust this sticky, bubbly liquid to protect us from dirt, oil, bacteria, and viruses? The answer to this requires a basic understanding of Chemistry-- specifically, the formation of micelles.


What exactly is a micelle? Micelles are spherical molecules that are composed of a hydrophobic (“water-fearing”) core and hydrophilic (“water-loving”) shell. They self-assemble when a solution containing amphiphilic (containing both hydrophobic and hydrophilic) particles is put into water. Naturally, the “water-fearing” portion of the particle will attempt to hide itself from the water, chemically producing a micelle molecule.

Figure 1: Amphiphilic particles assembling into micelles. Geenie Chiravanich, 2019.


With this, other hydrophobic molecules (like oil) will behave similarly to the hydrophobic core of the particles. In an attempt to protect itself from water, it will join the hydrophobic portions of the micelles and be trapped beneath the hydrophilic shell. During this process of entrapment and micelle formation, the cell membranes of many viruses and bacterias can be broken down, making them harmless. The arrangement of cell membranes is quite similar to that of micelles-- the phospholipids that make up the bilayer cell membrane are also amphiphilic, so the hydrophobic core attempts to hide under the hydrophilic outer shells. Thus, with this similarity, the reorganization of amphiphilic particles may occur in both the soap and cell membranes, resulting in the breakdown of the phospholipid bilayers and the shutdown of harmful germs.


These are the exact processes that occur when someone washes their hands with soap. Soap is basically a liquid that is packed with these amphiphilic molecules, specifically, fatty acid salts that are made with sodium or potassium. Micelles that entrap dirt and oil while breaking down the membranes of harmful bacteria/viruses are formed when hands are washed with soap under water.


As harmless as it feels, soap and water are the enemies of the grime we don’t want on our hands, and our most trusted companions when it comes to fighting a pandemic.


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