# Disaggregate with surfactant
Surfactants like [TWEEN® 20](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysorbate_20) and [TWEEN® 80](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysorbate_80) may disperse the bacteria which prevents aggregation. Enzymes like [DNase](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deoxyribonuclease) may also be effective to disaggregate some types of bacterial clumps.
In either case, add surfactant to your sample and then [disaggregate mechanically](/protocols/prepare-your-sample/break-up-clumps-and-chains/disaggregate-mechanically.md) afterwards.
## Avoid high concentrations
Schematic view of a micelle. By SuperManu - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2902736
Avoid high surfactant concentrations since this may lead to the formation of large, aggregate [micelles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micelle). BactoBox® may count and classify the micelles, which leads to surprising results.
At high concentrations these soap bubbles may completely dwarf the concentration of intact cells. E.g. if the concentration of aggregate micelles is more than 1000 times higher than intact cells. In such a case, it is virtually impossible to find a dilution factor that results in an actual number for intact cell concentrations.
Even at lower concentrations, micelles may surprise you when you look at the BactoBox® results. Typically, aggregate micelles appear as a population centered at approximately 1 rad in the HF phase dimension. This may lead to the false impression of a low *cell* percentage if the gating classifies them as *other*. You can subtract these objects from the result in post analysis but bubble concentration is still important during analysis because it contributes to detector saturation (e.g., the *total/mL* concentration).
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