So what does all this mean exactly?
A product of nanotechnology: Colloidal micelles function on a molecular level.
Ha , knock yourself out getting to the bottom of it .
JK might offer his explaination .
My understanding would be .... the better name for these products are ' microemulsions ' Google it , there is loads of reading and various patents related to the method .... like this
https://www.google.com.ar/patents/US5679628The microemulsion is not one particular substance but can be created by various chemical combinations , some may be plant derived , some may be synthetic , and its not just used in detergency but in several chemical fields .
The usual words that get included in the advertising for the cleaning versions , micelles , colloid are not unique to microemulsions , its a basic part od the chemical process of any detergent during the cleaning process , but these words may be singled out because the micelles are a bit smaller than usuall . The whole eco thing may be because these products do not reley as much on builders like phosphate during the cleaning process .
The end result as far as i can see is a cleaning surfactant that may be ( under certain conditions ) a bit more efficent that a regular surfactant .
But its still just a surfactant ... and imo can not compete with complex detergent mixes that contain and combine several indredients , surfactants , solvents , builders , chelating agents and other specific chemical all combined to make an efficient cleaning product under many different soiling conditions .