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1 | P a g e
An International Multidisciplinary e-Magazine
www.sabujeema.com
Volume 1 - Issue 4 – July, 2021
editorsabujeema@gmail.com
BIOSURFACTANTS AND ITS APPLICATIONS
- R. Jayashree and R. Murugaragavan
61 | P a g e
An International Multidisciplinary e-Magazine
www.sabujeema.com
Volume 1 - Issue 4 – July, 2021
editorsabujeema@gmail.com
BIOSURFACTANTS
AND ITS
APPLICATIONS
[Article ID: SIMM0093]
R. Jayashree
R. Murugaragavan
Department of Soils and Environment,
Agricultural College and Research
Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University, Madurai-625104
ABSTRACT
iosurfactants are surface active
biomolecules produced by
microorganisms with wide range of
applications. Biosurfactants are mainly
classified according to their chemical
structure and their microbial origin. The main
classes of biosurfactants are glycolipids,
phospholipids, polymeric biosurfactants
and lipopeptides (surfactin). The best known
glycolipids are rhamnolipids, sophorolipids
and trehalolipids. biosurfactants were used in
several industries including organic
chemicals, petroleum, petrochemicals,
mining, metallurgy (mainly bioleaching),
agrochemicals, fertilizers, foods, beverages,
cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and many others.
It is derived from renewable resources and
are low or nontoxic, biodegradable,
demonstrate excellent surface activity,
possess high specificity, show effectiveness
under extreme conditions, and can be reused
through regeneration too as compared to
synthetic surfactants.
Keywords: Biosurfactants, Amphiphilic,
Surfactin, Rhamnolipids, Petrochemicals
INTRODUCTION
Biosurfactants can be defined as the
surface active biomolecules produced by
microorganisms with wide range of
applications. Biosurfactants are amphiphilic
compounds produced in living surfaces,
mostly on microbial cell surfaces or
excreted extracellular hydrophobic and
hydrophilic moieties that confer the ability
to accumulate between fluid phases, thus
reducing surface and interfacial tension at the
surface and interface respectively.
Surfactants are the active ingredients
found in soaps and detergents with the
ability to concentrate at the air water
interface and are commonly used to separate
oily materials from a particular media due to
the fact that they are able to increase
aqueous solubility of Non Aqueous Phase
Liquids (NAPLS) by reducing their surface
or interfacial tension at air–water and water–
oil interfaces.
USES OF BIOSURFACTANTS
Biosurfactants are mainly classified
according to their chemical structure and
their microbial origin. The main classes of
biosurfactants are glycolipids,
phospholipids, polymeric biosurfactants
and lipopeptides (surfactin). The best known
glycolipids are rhamnolipids, sophorolipids
and trehalolipids. biosurfactants were used in
several industries including organic
chemicals, petroleum, petrochemicals,
mining, metallurgy (mainly bioleaching),
agrochemicals, fertilizers, foods, beverages,
cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and many others.
They can be used as emulsifiers as well as
demulsifiers, wetting agents, foaming agents,
spreading agents, functional food ingredients
and detergents. The interfacial surface
tension reducing ability of biosurfactants
B
62 | P a g e
An International Multidisciplinary e-Magazine
www.sabujeema.com
Volume 1 - Issue 4 – July, 2021
editorsabujeema@gmail.com
made them to play important role in oil
recovery and bioremediation of heavy crude
oil.
APPLICATION OF BIOSURFACTANTS
(i) Agriculture
To improve the solubility of
biohazardous chemical compounds such as
Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbon(PAH) is to
apply surfactants as mobilizing agents. This
increases the apparent solubility of
Hydrophobic Organic Contaminants (HOC).
Also surfactants are said to help microbes
adsorb to soil particles occupied by
pollutants, thus decreasing the diffusion
path length between the site of absorption
and site of biouptake by the microorganisms
. Also in agriculture, surfactants are used for
hydrophilization of heavy soils to obtain
good wettability and to achieve even
distribution of fertilizer in the soil. They also
prevent the caking of certain fertilizer during
storage and promote spreading and
penetration of the toxicants in pesticides. The
rhamnolipid biosurfactant, mostly produced
by the genus Pseudomonas is known to
possess potent antimicrobial activity. There
is no adverse effects on humans or the
environments are anticipated from
aggregate exposure to rhamnolipid
biosurfactants. Fengycins are also reported to
possess antifungal activity and therefore may
be employed in biocontrol of plant diseases.
(ii) Commercial Laundrydetergents
Cyclic Lipopeptide (CLP) are stable
over a wide pH range (7.0-12.0) and heating
them at high temperature does not result
in any loss of their surface active property .
They showed good emulsion formation
capability with vegetable oils and
demonstrated excellent compatibility and
stability with commercial laundry
detergents favoring their inclusion in laundry
detergents formulation
(iii) Biopesticide
Lipopeptide biosurfactants produced by
several bacteria exhibit insecticidal activity
against fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster
and hence are promising to be used as
biopesticide.
(iv) Medicine
1. Biosurfactants have strong antibacterial,
antifungal and antivirus activity; these
surfactants play a role of anti adhesive
agents to pathogens making them useful
for treating many diseases as well as its
use as therapeutic and probiotic agent. A
good example is the biosurfactant
produced by marine Bacillus circulans
that had a potent antimicrobial activity
against Gram positive and Gram negative
pathogens and Semi pathogenic
microbial strains including MDR
strain(Multi Drug Resistant).
2. Some of the microbial extracellular
glycolipids induce cell differentiation
instead of cell proliferation in the
human promyelocytic leukemia cell line,
also, exposure of PC 12 cells to MEL
enhanced the activity of acetylcholine
esterase and interrupted the cell cycle
at the G1 phase with resulting
overgrowth of neurites and partial
cellular differentiation, this suggest that
MEL induces neuronal differentiation in
PC 12 cells and provides the ground
work for the use of microbial
extracellular glycolipids as novel
reagents for the treatment of cancer
cells.
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Volume 1 - Issue 4 – July, 2021
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3. Biosurfactants have been found to
inhibit the adhesion of pathogenic
organisms to solid surfaces or to infection
sites. The precoating vinyl urethral
catheter by running the surfactin
solution through them before
inoculation with media resulted in the
decrease in the amount of biofilm
formed by Salmonella typhimurium,
Salmonella enterica, E. coli and Proteus
mirabilis. The pretreatment of silicone
rubber with S. thermophilus surfactant
inhibited 85% adhesion of Candida
albicans and surfactants from
Lactobacillus fermentum and L.
acidophilus adsorbed on glass, reduced
by 77% the number of adhering
uropathogenic cells of Enterococcus
faecalis.
4. Bacterial lipopeptides constitute potent
non toxic, non pyrogenic immunological
adjuvants when mixed with conventional
antigens. An improvement of the humoral
humane response was demonstrated
when low molecular mass antigens Iturin
AL and herbicolin A.
5. The increased incidence of HIV in
women, there arose the need for a
female controlled, efficacious and safe
vaginal topical microbicide.
Sophorolipids surfactants from Candida
bombicola and its structural analogues
such as the sophorolipid diacetate ethyl
ester is the most potent spermicidal and
virucidal agent, it was also reported that
this substance has a virucidal activity
similar to nonoxynol – 9 against the
human semen.
6. Isolation of genes for protein molecules of
this surfactant and cloning in bacteria
have made possible its fermentation
production for medical application.
(v) Food processing industry
Biosurfactants were used for
various food processing application but they
usually play a role as food formulation
ingredient and anti adhesive agents, as food
formulation ingredient they promote the
formation and stabilization of emulsion
due to their ability to decrease the surface
and interfacial tension. It is also used to
control the agglomeration of fat globules,
stabilize aerated systems, improve texture
and shelf life of starch containing products,
modify rheological properties of wheat
dough and improve consistency and texture
of fat based products.
(vi) Cosmetic industry
The surfactants are used as
emulsifiers, foaming agents, solubilizers,
wetting agents, cleansers, antimicrobial
agents, mediators of enzyme action, in insect
repellents, antacids, bath products, acne
pads, anti dandruff products, contact lens
solutions, baby products, mascara,
lipsticks, toothpaste etc.,
(vii) Petroleum industry
Biosurfactant and bioemulsifiers are
novel group of molecules and among the
most powerful and versatile byproduct that
modern microbial technology can offer in
fields such as biocorrosion and biofouling
degradation of hydrocarbons within oil
reservoirs, enzymes and biocatalysts for
petroleum up grading. Biosurfactants play a
major role in petroleum extraction,
transportation, upgrading and refining and
petrochemical manufacturing. Microbial
enhanced oil recovery includes use of
microorganisms and the exploitation of their
64 | P a g e
An International Multidisciplinary e-Magazine
www.sabujeema.com
Volume 1 - Issue 4 – July, 2021
editorsabujeema@gmail.com
metabolic processes to increase production of
oil from marginally producing reservoirs.
Microbial surfactants are widely used in oil
recovery in recent times. The mechanism
responsible for oil release is acidification of
the solid phase. Certain microorganisms,
such as Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas
aeruginosa, Torulopsis bombicola have been
reported to utilize crude oil & hydrocarbons
as sole carbon sources and it can be used for
oil spill remediation.
CONCLUSION
It is derived from renewable
resources and are low or nontoxic,
biodegradable, demonstrate excellent surface
activity, possess high specificity, show
effectiveness under extreme conditions, and
can be reused through regeneration too as
compared to synthetic surfactants. In future
the biosurfactants are made by applying
different modern biotechnological concept to
explore the utilities for ecosystem protection.
REFRENCES
Fakruddin Md (2012) Biosurfactant:
Production and Application. J Pet
Environ Biotechnol 3:124.
doi:10.4172/2157-7463.1000124
Kosaric N (2001) Biosurfactants and their
Applications for Soil Bioremediation.
Food Technol Biotechnol 39: 295-
304.
Krishnaswamy M, Subbuchettiar G, Ravi
TK, Panchaksharam S (2008)
Biosurfactants properties,
commercial production and
application. Current Science. 94:
736-747
Mulligan CN (2005) Environmental
applications for biosurfactants.
Environ pollut. 133: 183-198.
Singh A, Van Hanne JD, Ward OP (2007)
Surfactants in microbiology and
biotechnology: Part 2. Application
aspects. Biotechnol Adv. 25: 99-121.
