ABSTRACT
When the surfactant concentration is above a specific value: the critical micelle concentration (cmc), the surfactant solution becomes a micellar solution. Micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) uses solutions of surfactants forming micelles, as mobile phases. A basic knowledge on the organized surfactant systems is, thus, required to understand correctly the capabilities of this chromatographic technique. This is the purpose of this second chapter. The basic and simplified background knowledge on micellar and microemulsion systems is provided. The properties of surfactants, micelles and the parameters affecting the cmc value are exposed. The fundamental properties relevant to MLC are described extensively. The other properties are touched upon briefly.
