how does soap remove microorganism

[kiekyon]

anyone knows how does soap remove microorganism from our body. and does washing hands with soap causes our body proteins to be removed as well?

[Ken Ramos]

Do not take this as fact but it is to my understanding, soap is nothing more than a wetting agent. It actually makes water wetter and water being a solvent along with soap, will remove some but not all microorganisms. As for proteins, I have no idea. Beware of anti-bacterial soaps. These may do more harm than good by removing useful bacteria from our bodies.

[2810712]

i too think that simply soap will just make water better wetter. And the micelles formed engulf the dirt, bacts, proteins etc.
And keratins may get removed but nothing that harming. And useful bacteria may get removed. BUt these usefulness is only by means of non-harmingly induced competition by the bacteria.
ALso reducing surface tension of water makes it easy to remove most of the water with a towel. so it makeskin dry, and dryness will inhibit both the bacteria and the immunos if present.

[victor]

Soap is a surfactant agent, means that it has two different edges...one is polar edge which can bind with water and another one is non-polar edge which can bind with fat tails....
How soap remove microorganisms from our body? well, microorganisms have lipid envelope that surrounds their bodies...and another edge of the soap (polar tail) will get binded with water (that's why after soaping your body, the microorganisms can be easily removed from our body).
For anti-bacterial soap, they (the industries) add the soap components with some kinda bactericide (i.e. Triclosan).

[Navin]

when you refer to fats and micelles, were you refering to phospholipids?

[cool A-level student]

Soap is a surfactant agent, means that it has two different edges...one is polar edge which can bind with water and another one is non-polar edge which can bind with fat tails....
How soap remove microorganisms from our body? well, microorganisms have lipid envelope that surrounds their bodies...and another edge of the soap (polar tail) will get binded with water (that's why after soaping your body, the microorganisms can be easily removed from our body).
For anti-bacterial soap, they (the industries) add the soap components with some kinda bactericide (i.e. Triclosan).

aah of course your referring to the phospholipid bi-layer of the bacterium, that is a very good way to remove it sein as the outside is hydro-philic, it is attracted to the water!
simple yet ingenius

[Linn]

In nursing/med school they used to teach that its not so much the soap, its the scrubbing (friction)
And a whole class spent on that topic of proper cleansing and drying.

I dont know if that has changed. They have all sorts of anti-microbial soap now, but its creating super "bugs"

[kiekyon]

well, as our cell membrane is also made of phospholipid, are u saying that the cell membrane can be removed also??

[victor]

well, as our cell membrane is also made of phospholipid, are u saying that the cell membrane can be removed also??

Did you use soaps near cell membrane?!? That's terrible...our skin structure is made of Stratum corneum which is stacked together at the very outside of our body...
this stratum corneum is a dead cell...so, no problem if you use soaps onto it...because they get peeled everytime..

you can remove "your cell membrane" with soap....perhaps, if you eat it wanna try??

[kiekyon]

yeah, sounds reasonable.. thanks a lot

[kiekyon]

you can remove "your cell membrane" with soap....perhaps, if you eat it wanna try??

but then, interesting point..
can you really do that?
what would happen if i really eat the soap....

[victor]

I dunno....any related experiments about "eating soap"?:lol:
that's according to my opinion, but I don't think that our cell membrane will get 'washed' that easy..because we've gotten epithelial cells and mucous membrane which can prevent the soap's bad effect..