What does hydrophilic mean?
Hydrophilic is a term used to explain a property of molecules
that are soluble in water or other polar solvents. The word literally means
"water loving". Other ways to describe such molecules are Lipophobic (lipid hating)
or polar. The head of a soap molecule is polar because of its ionicity, the fact
that it contains postive and negative charges.
Author: Hannah Cope (document modification date: 28th April 2002)