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Biosurfactant

Surfactant of microbial origin

Biosurfactant
Summary

Surfactant of microbial origin

Biosurfactant usually refers to surfactants of microbial origin. Most of the biosurfactants produced by microbes are synthesized extracellularly and many microbes are known to produce biosurfactants in large relative quantities. Some are of commercial interest. As a secondary metabolite of microorganisms, biosurfactants can be processed by the cultivation of biosurfactant producing microorganisms in the stationary phase on many sorts of low-priced substrates like biochar, plant oils, carbohydrates, wastes, etc. High-level production of biosurfactants can be controlled by regulation of environmental factors and growth circumstances.

Classification

Biosurfactants are usually categorized by their molecular structure. Like synthetic surfactants, they are composed of a hydrophilic moiety made up of amino acids, peptides, (poly)saccharides, or sugar alcohols and a hydrophobic moiety consisting of fatty acids. Correspondingly, the significant classes of biosurfactants include glycolipids, lipopeptides and lipoproteins, and polymeric surfactants as well as particulate surfactants.

Examples

blue}} – [[saturated fatty acid]].

Common biosurfactants include:

  • Bile salts are mixtures of micelle-forming compounds that encapsulate food, enabling absorption through the small intestine.
  • Lecithin, which can be obtained either from soybean or from egg yolk, is a common food ingredient.
  • Rhamnolipids, which can be produced by some species of Pseudomonas, e.g., Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
  • Sophorolipids are produced by various nonpathogenic yeasts.
  • Emulsan produced by Acinetobacter calcoaceticus.
  • Surfactin is a non-ribosomal lipopeptide produced by Bacillus subtilis

Microbial biosurfactants are obtained by including immiscible liquids in the growth medium.

Applications

Potential applications include herbicides and pesticides formulations, detergents, healthcare and cosmetics, pulp and paper, coal, textiles, ceramic processing and food industries, uranium ore-processing, and mechanical dewatering of peat.{{cite journal|title=Microbial production of surfactants and their commercial potential|last1=Desai|first1=Jitendra D.|last2=Banat|first2=Ibrahim M.|journal=Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews

Oil spill remediation

Biosurfactants enhance the emulsification of hydrocarbons, thus they have the potential to solubilise hydrocarbon contaminants and increase their availability for microbial degradation. In addition, biosurfactants can modify the cell surface of bacteria that biodegrade hydrocarbons, which can also increase the biodegradability of these pollutants to cells. These compounds can also be used in enhanced oil recovery and may be considered for other potential applications in environmental protection.

References

References

  1. (September 2025). "Microbial Primer: Biosurfactants – the ABCs of microbial surface-active metabolites". Microbiology.
  2. (2001). "Natural roles of biosurfactants. Minireview". Environmental Microbiology.
  3. (April 2022). "Biosurfactant, a green and effective solution for bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons in the aquatic environment". Discover Water.
  4. (1997). "Microbial production of surfactants and their commercial potential". Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews.
  5. (2015). "Essentials of Medical Biochemistry".
  6. Oliveira, F. J. S.; Vazquez, L.; de Campos, N. P.; de França, F. P., Production of rhamnolipids by a Pseudomonas alcaligenes strain. Process Biochemistry 2009, 44 (4), 383-389
  7. (2000). "Engineering bacterial biopolymers for the biosorption of heavy metals; new products and novel formulations". Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.
  8. (2005). "Environmental applications for biosurfactants". Environmental Pollution.
  9. (August 1999). "High- and low-molecular-mass microbial surfactants". Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol..
  10. (2001). "Influence of oil contamination levels on hydrocarbon biodegradation in sandy sediment". Environ. Pollut..
  11. (2018-08-26). "The Impact of Biosurfactants on Microbial Cell Properties Leading to Hydrocarbon Bioavailability Increase". Colloids and Interfaces.
  12. (1999). "Biosurfactant enhanced remediation of oil-contaminated environments". Adsorpt. Sci. Technol..
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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