Mini-Review
Advances in utilization of renewable substrates for biosurfactant production
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* Corresponding author: Randhir S Makkar rsmakkar@yahoo.com
1 279 Sweet Alyssum Dr. Ladson SC. 29456, USA
2 Scientist F, Fellow AMI, FNABS, NESA Environmentalist, Member WFCC Task Groups, Institute of Microbial Technology, Sector 39A, Chandigarh-160036, India
3 Professor Ibrahim M. Banat BSc PhD CBiol FIBiol, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine BT52 1SA, Northern Ireland, UK
AMB Express 2011, 1:5 doi:10.1186/2191-0855-1-5
Published: 28 March 2011Abstract
Biosurfactants are amphiphilic molecules that have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties which partition preferentially at the interfaces such as liquid/liquid, gas/liquid or solid/liquid interfaces. Such characteristics enable emulsifying, foaming, detergency and dispersing properties. Their low toxicity and environmental friendly nature and the wide range of potential industrial applications in bioremediation, health care, oil and food processing industries makes them a highly sought after group of chemical compounds. Interest in them has also been encouraged because of the potential advantages they offer over their synthetic counterparts in many fields spanning environmental, food, biomedical, petrochemical and other industrial applications. Their large scale production and application however are currently restricted by the high cost of production and by the limited understanding of their interactions with cells and with the abiotic environment. In this paper, we review the current knowledge and latest advances in the search for cost effective renewable agro industrial alternative substrates for their production.
