Professor Anton Middelberg and team from the University of Queensland say they have developed a surfactant that does this, which also has medical applications.
The new surfactant, which is based on a protein, is called a pepfactant.
And when the researchers tweaked its amino acid composition, they found they could switch its properties on and off, in response to changing acidity or the presence of zinc ions.
When the pepfactant it switched on, it can create an emulsion or a foam by forming strong collagen-like gel capsules around small pockets of oil or air.
But these capsules collapse when the pepfactant is switched off.
As a laundry detergent, the pepfactant could generate suds that can collapse as quickly as they are created, says Middelberg.
"During the wash cycle the pepfactant is on and has good foaming properties," he says. "During the rinse cycle the pH drops and de-sudsing occurs."
The peptide, along with the dirt it has mobilised, is then free to go back into the water and be washed away easily.
Middelberg says the system would be better for the environment than standard detergents because it is made of amino acids that microbes can attack and destroy.
The pepfactant is based on a protein that binds to DNA to initiate gene expression. But Middelberg says as only a small part of the original protein has been used, the pepfactant should not affect DNA expression in the environment.
He also says that as long as the pepfactant remained diluted it would remain switched off.
But he says any future product would need to be tested for toxicity and biodegradability.
A pepfactant detergent will cost much more than conventional petrochemical-based detergents, says Middelberg, although the rising cost of oil may change this.
He says pepfactants are most likely to be deployed first in drug delivery.
For example, a pepfactant could be used to help deliver the anticancer drug, Taxol (paclitaxel), with fewer side-effects.
Currently the drug, which is an oily substance, is injected into patients along with petrochemicals to help its delivery via the patient's water-based bloodstream.
"By encapsulating the [drug] in this layer of gel-like collagen you have a bio-compatible encapsulation methods for anticancer agents," says Middelberg.
The research is funded by the Australian Research Council and the researchers have signed a number of commercial agreements with major multinational pharmaceutical and chemical companies.
The work was presented at an American Chemical Society meeting in Boston recently.