Many microorganisms synthesize a wide range of surface active compounds (SACs), classified according to their molecular weights, properties and localizations. The low molecular weight SACs or biosurfactants lower the surface tension at the air/water interfaces and the interfacial tension at...

Biosurfactants are a group of microbial molecules identified by their unique capabilities to interact with hydrocarbons. Emulsification and de‑emulsification, dispersion, foaming, wetting and coating are some of the numerous surface activities that biosurfactants can achieve when applied within...

In recent years biosurfactants have attracted attention because of their low toxicity, biodegradability and ecological acceptability. However, their use is currently extremely limited due to their high cost in relation to that of chemical surfactants. Solid‑state cultivation represents an...

Microbial biosurfactants are amphipathic molecules having typical molecular weights of 500‑1500 Da, made up of peptides, saccharides or lipids or their combinations. In biodegradation processes they mediate solubilisation, mobilization and/or accession of hydrophobic substrates to microbes....

During the last years, several applications of biosurfactants with medical purposes have been reported. Biosurfactants are considered relevant molecules for applications in combating many diseases and as therapeutic agents due to their antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activities....

Surfactants are chemically synthesized surface‑active compounds widely used for large number of applications in various industries. During last few years there is increase demand of biological surface‑active compounds or biosurfactants which are produced by large number of micro‑organisms...

This review gives an overview of current methods for the isolation of biosurfactant producing microbes. The common screening methods for biosurfactants are presented.\r\nSampling and isolation of bacteria are the basis for screening of biosurfactant producing microbes. Hydrocarbon‑contaminated...

Rhamnolipids are bacterial biosurfactants produced by Pseudomonas spp. These compounds have been shown to present several interesting biological activities and to have potential applications as therapeutics agents. It has been suggested that the interaction with the membrane could be the ultimate...

Certain species of Pseudomonas are able to produce and excrete a heterogeneous mixture of biosurfactants with a glycolipid structure. These are known as rhamnolipids. In the biosynthetic process, rhamnolipid production is governed by both the genetic regulatory system and central metabolic...

For many years efforts have been made to find alternative surfactants to those that are traditionally synthesized and as a result biosurfactants have emerged as an increasingly popular competitor. The growth of these biosurfactants has become even more achievable given the current trends towards...

Biosurfactant or microbial surfactants produced by microbes are structurally diverse and heterogeneous groups of surface‑active amphipathic molecules. They are capable of reducing surface and interfacial tension and have a wide range of industrial and environmental applications. The present...

Biosurfactants are surface‑active compounds from biological sources, usually extracellular, produced by bacteria, yeast or fungi. Research on biological surfactant production has grown significantly due to the advantages they present over synthetic compounds such as biodegradability, low...

Biosurfactants are of considerable industrial value as their high tenside activity in combination with their biocompatibility makes them attractive for many applications. In particular members of the lipopeptide family of biosurfactants contain significant potentials for the pharmaceutical...

This chapter deals with two types of biosurfactants that are not in the spotlight of general research: glycoglycerolipids and oligosaccharide lipids. The main focus is on glycolglycerolipids from marine bacteria like Microbacterium spec. DSM 12583, Micrococcus luteus (Hel 12/2) and Bacillus...

Biosurfactants are amphipathic molecules with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic (generally hydrocarbon) moieties, a structurally diverse group of surface active molecules synthesized by a variety of microorganism bacteria, filamentous fungi and yeasts. These molecules reduce surface and...

In the current scenario, there is immense concern regarding the environmental issues. Eco-friendly surfactants are becoming a preferred choice for specific applications in spite of their possibly inferior performance or more expensive nature than conventional ones. This chapter deals with the use...

A great many methods are available for the concentration of biosurfactants from microbiological media. The strongest known biosurfactant, surfactin, serves as a model in many studies, so is used here to illustrate the diversity in approaches to product enrichment. Common physiochemical properties...

Surfactants and biosurfactants are amphipathic molecules with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties that partition preferentially at the interface between fluid phases that have different degrees of polarity and hydrogen bonding which confers excellent detergency, emulsifying, foaming and...

Marine environment occupies the vast majority of the earth’s surface and is a rich source of highly potent and active compounds. In recent years, microbial surfactants and emulsifiers have been reported from marine microflora. Surfactant and emulsifier molecules having diverse chemical nature...

Lichenysins are most potent anionic cyclic lipoheptapeptide biosurfactants produced by Bacillus licheniformis on hydrocarbonless medium with mainly glucose as carbon source. They have the capacity to lower the surface tension of water from 72 to 27 mN/m. Based on species specific variations they...

Even after forty years of its discovery by Arima et al7, surfactin, a potent lipopeptide biosurfactant, still attracts attention and fancy of the applied microbiologists and biotechnologists worldwide, mainly due to its versatile bioactive properties and potential industrial implications....

Surfactants are the amphiphilic molecules that tend to alter the interfacial and surface tension. The fundamental property related to the structure of surfactant molecules is their self‑aggregation resulting in the formation of association colloids. Apart from the packing of these molecules...

Biosurfactants are surface‑active compounds synthesized by a wide variety of microorganisms. They are molecules that have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains and are capable of lowering the surface tension and the interfacial tension of the growth medium. Biosurfactants possess different...

Biosurfactant (BS)/bioemulsifier (BE) produced by varied microorganisms exemplify immense structural/functional diversity and consequently signify the involvement of particular molecular machinery in their biosynthesis. The present chapter aims to compile information on molecular genetics of...