Micelles resemble sub-microscopic soap bubbles and are used to model cell membranes and other bio-systems. Most researchers assume that micelles carrying the same charge repel and opposite charges attract.

However, micelles below a certain size confined in a nano space defy the normal rules of electrostatic interactions. If the discovery proves valid in other laboratories it might be time to reconsider those chemical and biological models as well as how we approach the design of drug-delivery agents.

The researchers do not offer a plausible mechanism for this rule breaking.

• A nano-confined charged layer defies the principle of electrostaticinteraction,
  Prabhat K. Singh, Manoj Kumbhakar, Haridas Pal and Sukhendu Nath,
  Chem. Commun. 2011.
  DOI: 10.1039/C1CC10881F