Final answer:
A surfactant is an amphipathic molecule used as a wetting agent and emulsifier that can dissolve membranes but is not sporicidal. Soaps, which are surfactants, are not considered disinfectants because they do not kill a wide range of microbes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The chemical method described is a surfactant. Surfactants are amphipathic molecules, meaning they have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts, which allows them to act as wetting agents and emulsifiers. This nature enables surfactants to dissolve membranes by infiltrating and disrupting the phospholipid plasma membranes of bacterial cells, as mentioned in Figure 13.26. However, surfactants like soaps are not sporicidal, meaning they do not kill or inhibit the growth of spores. While soaps can lift away dirt and bacteria mechanically, they are not considered disinfectants because they lack the ability to kill a wide range of microbes.
Soaps dissolve in water because they are made up of molecules like methanol (CH3OH) and sodium sulfate (Na₂SO4) that are attracted to water molecules, in contrast to hydrophobic substances such as octane (C8H18). The cleansing properties of soaps and detergents are due to their surfactant nature, which allows them to reduce water's surface tension by disrupting the intermolecular attractions between adjacent water molecules.