Biotechnological potential of microbial bio-surfactants, their significance, and diverse applications

Abstract

Globally, there is a huge demand for chemically available surfactants in many industries, irrespective of their detrimental impact on the environment. Naturally occurring green sustainable substances have been proven to be the best alternative for reducing reliance on chemical surfactants and promoting long-lasting sustainable development. The most frequently utilized green active biosurfactants, which are made by bacteria, yeast, and fungi, are discussed in this review. These biosurfactants are commonly originated from contaminated sites, the marine ecosystem, and the natural environment, and it holds great potential for environmental sustainability. In this review, we described the importance of biosurfactants for the environment, including their biodegradability, low toxicity, environmental compatibility, and stability at a wide pH range. In this review, we have also described the various techniques that have been utilized to characterize and screen the generation of microbial biosurfactants. Also, we reviewed the potential of biosurfactants and its emerging applications in the foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural industries. In addition, we also discussed the ways to overcome problems with expensive costs such as low-cost substrate media formulation, gravitational techniques, and solvent-free foam fractionation for extraction that could be employed during biosurfactant production on a larger scale.

Advancements in biosurfactant production using agro-industrial waste for industrial and environmental applications

“…In order to propagate colonies and generate products, microorganisms generally require water, vitamins, minerals, carbon and nitrogen sources, as well as ideal physicochemical conditions. By using essential components necessary for the growth of microorganisms, it is possible to readily produce a culture medium using small-scale techniques ( Kumari et al, 2023 ). However, it is not possible to get an equivalent level of success when employing this medium for large-scale production.…”

Biotechnological Utilization of Agro-Industrial Residues and By-Products—Sustainable Production of Biosurfactants

“…Likewise, biosurfactants are highly superficial molecules that can work in a broad range of pH (2.0–12.0), temperature (30–60 °C), and salinity (to 20% NaCl) conditions [ 32 ]. An additional advantage of biosurfactants compared to synthetic surfactants is their low toxicity, biodegradability, and eco-friendliness [ 36 , 50 ]. This property is attributed to their structural components; i.e., they are made of biomolecules, do not accumulate in the environment, and are easily degraded by natural processes [ 51 ].…”

Biosurfactants production by some Aspergilli species under solid state fermentation

“…Microbial biosurfactants has potential uses in the agriculture, bioremediation, detergent, petrochemical, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries (Kumari et al, 2023). They are amphiphilic surface-active substances, classified into five major groups including lipopolysaccharides, lipopeptides, phospholipids, glycolipids, and fatty acids (Sobrinho et al, 2014).…”