The critical micelle concentration (CMC) value of a detergent greatly depends on the solution compositions such as salt concentrations.  Knowing the CMC value of the detergent in a particular buffer is essential in membrane protein extraction, purification and crystallization. Membrane proteins tend to aggregate when the detergent concentration is below the CMC. A too high detergent concentration may cause many problems including protein instability, difficulty in purification and crystallization. A low concentration of a detergent may be used for enzyme assays where formation of detergent micelles should be avoided in testing enzyme inhibitors.

Detergent Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) Assay Kit (Catalog Number: CMC1000)

The assay kit is based on the principle that the detergent interacts with the fluorescence dye and enhances the fluorescence intensity at 465 nm (excitation at 360 nm).  The assay reagent is sufficient for measurement of 1000 samples using 96-well plates.  It can also be used for determination of detergent CMC values using cuvettes. 

References:                             

1. University of Illinois, http://butane.chem.uiuc.edu/murphycj/chem204spring2014/slides/Feb102014Chem204.pdf.

2. Loreen R. Stromberg1 et al, Presentation matters: Impact of association of amphiphilic LPS with serum carrier proteins, on innate immune signaling, PLOS One, June 2018.

3. Kubicek-Sutherland J.Z. Undertanding the Significance of Biochemistry in the Storage, Handling, Purification, and Sampling of Amphiphilic Mycolactone. Toxins 11(4), 202 (2019).