This article includes an updated review of the classification, uses and side effects of surfactants for their application in the cosmetic, personal care and pharmaceutical industries. Based on their origin and composition, surfactants can be divided into three different categories: (i) synthetic surfactants; (ii) bio-based surfactants; and (iii) microbial biosurfactants. The first group is the most widespread and cost-effective. It is composed of surfactants, which are synthetically produced, using non-renewable sources, with a final structure that is different from the natural components of living cells. The second category comprises surfactants of intermediate biocompatibility, usually produced by chemical synthesis but integrating fats, sugars or amino acids obtained from renewable sources into their structure. Finally, the third group of surfactants, designated as microbial biosurfactants, are considered the most biocompatible and eco-friendly, as they are produced by living cells, mostly bacteria and yeasts, without the intermediation of organic synthesis. Based on the information included in this review it would be interesting for cosmetic, personal care and pharmaceutical industries to consider microbial biosurfactants as a group apart from surfactants, needing specific regulations, as they are less toxic and more biocompatible than chemical surfactants having formulations that are more biocompatible and greener.

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Depending on their ionic nature, biosurfactants can be classified as nonionic, anionic, cationic, or amphoteric. The ionic behavior of biosurfactants is an important characteristic that dictates their use in industrial applications. In this work, a biosurfactant extract obtained from corn steep liquor was subjected to anionic or cationic resins, in order to study the ionic behavior under different operational conditions using response surface methodology. The independent variables included in the study are the dilution of biosurfactant solution, the amount of cationic or anionic resin, and the extraction time, whereas the dependent variables studied consisted of the surface tension of biosurfactant aqueous solution, after contacting with anionic or cationic resin. The results showed that biosurfactant extracted from corn steep liquor is amphoteric, since both resins were able to entrap this biosurfactant, making it particularly suited for use in personal care preparations for sensitive skin.

This is the first time that a biosurfactant extract, obtained from natural sources, has been introduced into a food product like a drinkable probiotic yogurt, producing a positive effect in the growth of probiotic bacterium. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Human hair contains fatty acids (palmitic, palmitoleic, oleic and stearic acid) that prevent hair dryness and avoid lower hair density of the scalp that can be caused when hair is dyed. These acids are also present in the composition of the amphoteric biosurfactant obtained from corn steep liquor, an agro-industrial stream generated by the corn wet-milling industry. This biosurfactant has a molecular weight of 1542 Da, with a similar mass spectrum to that of Fengycin, a biosurfactant produced by Bacillus subtilis strains. Few studies exist in the literature on the interaction of hair and biosurfactants, nor are there studies on the influence of micelle formation on biosurfactant adsorption capacity. Moreover, this is supposedly the first work in which a biosurfactant is applied to dyed hair. Different concentrations of biosurfactant were applied to dyed hair between 20–50 °C during 2–30 min of treatment. Theoretical models were obtained, which allowed the prediction of the amount of biosurfactant that can be entrapped by dyed hair. A maximum capacity of 10 549 µg g-1 was achieved at 295 mg L-1 of biosurfactant, thus it could be observed that dyed hair mainly adsorbed the biosurfactant above its critical micellar concentration, at which point the biosurfactant is in micellar form. Furthermore, this treatment maintains the dyed hair structure in a good state.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

In this work, an aqueous solution containing surface-active compounds, extracted from corn steep liquor (CSL), was added to human hair and its adsorption was studied by applying an incomplete factorial design.The independent variables established in the study were temperature (20-50 C), pH (5-7) and treatment time (2-30 min); whereas the dependent variable studied was the adsorption capacity of hair. It was observed that the adsorption of the biosurfactant onto hair was very fast, occurring few minutes after starting the experiments. The time was, in the range studied, the least significant independent variable while temperature had an important effect on the adsorption of this biosurfactant onto hair. It was observed that the capacity of hair to adsorb the biosurfactant was improved at low temperatures. Moreover, pH had an intermediate significant effect, mainly at middle or high temperatures, meanwhile at low temperatures, the pH, in the range studied, almost did not affect the adsorption process. At the higher concentration of biosurfactant, hair was able to adsorb the biosurfactant with a maximum capacity of 3679 mg g À1 .

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